Generation Gap
by Birrirra
Summary: Kurt, Pietro and Wanda are made an offer they CAN'T refuse...(rated for language and violence) *Chapter Ten* Final chapter! Sinister has everyone at his mercy...or does he?
1. Default Chapter

**_I do not own these characters.  I do not pretend to own these characters.  They are, essentially, the property of Marvel Comics.  This is purely a work of fiction designed for the entertainment of others. No monetary gain will be made…_**

Generation Gap Chapter One 

Nathaniel Essex was a man who had always demanded perfection.  From himself and, even more so from those who served him.  He looked dispassionately at the quintet he'd assembled.  Mutants all, they were hardly what he'd call perfection.  Though they all excelled in one thing.  Their love of chaos.

Though he wasn't too keen to work with any of them, he knew they could gather the test subjects for his latest research project.  They'd already delivered two of the five.  The remaining three should prove no problem in locating, they were all within a few miles radius of each other.

They turned their attention to a large view screen as he dimmed the lights in the room.  They were nothing if not professional.  A picture of a smug looking fair-haired boy of about sixteen appeared.

"This…" Nathaniel intoned.  "Is Pietro Maximoff.  He's fast, he's agile, and won't prove a pushover like our other two…guests.  He does have a weakness though…which I'm sure you can exploit my dear Vertigo…" He smiled at the voluptuous silver-haired woman.

"Pride…" Another of the gathered mutants said softly.

"You have something to add, Riptide?"  Nathaniel looked at the young man who had spoken.

"Oh, c'mon…look at him."  Riptide gestured at the screen.  "He's so up himself…tell him what he wants to hear and you'll have him wrapped around your little finger!"

Nathaniel chuckled.  "My thoughts exactly…" He looked again to Vertigo.  "Lay it on…lay it on thick…and he'll come to us like a lamb to the slaughter.

"Pietro, however, is the easy one…" He changed the picture to that of a sullen, dark-haired young girl.  "His twin sister, Wanda, will be quite a challenge.  She's extremely powerful, but also very naive.  She's spent most of her life in an asylum.  She knows little of how the world operates, but she trusts no one."  He looked to a dark haired woman and the Native American man that sat beside her.  "Arclight, Scalphunter…think you can handle her?"

"I don't think she'll be a problem."  Arclight smiled nastily.

"Which leaves us with this young fellow."  The picture changed to a pale-faced boy with long dark bangs.

"Pretty…" Vertigo ran her tongue across the bottom of her upper teeth.  "Can I have that one?"

"You have your assignment, Vertigo."  Nathaniel pointed out.  "Besides there is far more to young Kurt Wagner that is apparent to the eye.  _THIS_…" He gestured at the screen.  "Is not his true appearance…" The image changed to show a blue, elfin-like creature.  "This is."

"Whoa!"  Riptide smirked.  "A bona fide freak!"

"Still pretty."  Vertigo breathed.

"He may be the hardest of the three to…invite to our little party.  He's phenomenally agile, can climb anything, is highly trained in a multiple of fighting skills, and he can teleport."

"Teleport?" Riptide quirked an eyebrow.  "You mean like in 'beam my up, Scotty'?"

"Essentially."  Nathaniel confirmed.  "Riptide, Harpoon…he's yours."

The lights came back up as Nathaniel rose to address them.  "All three are adept in the use of their powers.  Unlike your previous assignments, they're trained, and…they're not alone.  They have equally powerful friends to back them up.

"You are free to use any means necessary in obtaining them, but keep damage to a minimum.  I _DO_ want them breathing and in one piece.  Beyond that…use your imaginations."

"All right, people."  Scalphunter announced as he surged to his feet.  "Let's move out!"

As the quintet filed out, Nathaniel quickly put himself between Harpoon and the door.  "A word…" He said quietly.  Harpoon arched a brow.  "Your target…I want him out of it…unconscious, delirious, in shock, incoherent…"

"May I ask why?"

"His spatial awareness is infallible…if they escape he'll be able to backtrack home by using the time spent travelling and the direction taken…even if you alter course…he'll still know…"

"Neat trick."  Harpoon admitted.

"A neat trick indeed."  Nathaniel agreed.  "Young Mister Wagner's gifts are many and varied.  I have no doubt that you and Riptide will have your hands full with that one."

~~~~~~

"So…" Riptide began.  "How long are we're gonna have to wait?"

"Until he ditches the skirt."  Harpoon said softly.

"You afraid of his girlfriend?"

"The fewer people involved the better…besides, I don't think that's his girlfriend…the interaction of them doesn't indicate a romantic bond…"

"True…who'd go for a freaky fuzz ball…"

~~~~~~

"Like, c'mon, Kurt…" Kitty whined.  "Pick up the pace!  Stop dragging your tail!"

"Kitty!"  Kurt admonished.  "Someone vill hear."

"It's just an expression, Kurt…" She pointed out.  "Besides, they know what we are now…"

"It is easy for you…" He sighed.  "You can pass for normal…I vould rather not draw attention to myself."  He glanced around uneasily.  His eyes narrowed when he noticed the van.  It had been parked outside the school when they'd left.  Now it was here.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her closer.  "Ve are being followed…" He hissed at her.

"Knock it off, Kurt."  She yelled at him, yanking her arm free of his grasp.   "You've been totally paranoid since we got the others back!"  She took a firm grip on his biceps.  "The government is not out to get us!  Some people even see us as heroes…they, like, wanna be us!"  She said firmly to him.  "Besides…we're American citizens with the same rights as everybody else."

"Kitty, I an _NOT_ an American citizen."  He reminded her.

"Oh…right…" She acknowledged.  "But you are here legally.  The government still can't touch you."

"It is not the government I am vorried about."  He said.  "It is the curious, psychotic members of the scientific community that concerns me…"

"Heh…sounds like you already know the boss." A voice chuckled from behind them.

The two young mutants spun, the overly cautious Kurt dropping into a defence stance.  The stranger arched a brow at Kurt's reaction.

He was a tall, thin, smarmy looking man, with long silvery hair.  In fact, he looked a lot like Quicksilver.

"Oh…" He mocked.  "Little tough guy…"

Sounded a lot like Quicksilver too.

"Of for God's sake!" A second voice growled.  "Do you not know the meaning of the word '_WAIT_'?"

Kurt's golden eyes flicked from one to the other as he brushed Kitty behind him in a traditional show of chivalry. He kept hold of her wrist.  "Brace yourself…" He said to her.

"Oh no…" She warned him.  "Don't even think about it.  You know it makes me sick to my stomach!" 

"You vould rather take your chances vith them?"  He jerked a thumb at the menacing looking pair who were slowly advancing towards them.

"Good point."  She conceded.  They didn't look too friendly.

They were only a few steps from the young pair when Kurt flashed them a winning smile.  It wasn't quite as impressive a smile as it would have been if he hadn't been using his image inducer, but it'd do in a pinch.

"Auf Wiedersehen…" He said to them as the pair disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Riptide did a double take, then chuckled.  "He didn't say 'beam me up'…"

"Terrific…" Harpoon growled.

"What's with you?"  Riptide sneered.  "I thought you enjoyed the thrill of the hunt…"

Harpoon crouched, plucking up some grass from where Kurt had been standing, inhaling deeply, getting his quarry's scent.  He looked off into the distance.

"Remind me to kick your ass when we get back."  He said to his companion.

"Oh, yeah…I'm _REALLY_ gonna remind you to do that!"

~~~~~~

"Who the hell vere they?"  Kurt demanded from their new location.  He'd transported them to one of his numerous shadowy arrival points.

"Like I know?"  Kitty countered, holding her head as she waited for the world to stop spinning.  She looked around the trash strew and extremely rancid alley.  "You really take a girl to the best places…" She mumbled under her breath.

"Ve have to get home…" Kurt said, not hearing her comment.  "Tell the Professor about this…maybe he knows them or something…" He was way jumpier than usual, pacing back and forth.  "But the minute ve show our faces…"

"Will you relax?"  Kitty tried to sooth him.  "We like totally left them in the dust."

"Maybe…" Kurt admitted.  He was just beginning to relax when the alley was suddenly filled with a powerful, swirling wind.  It was so forceful it knocked the pair back against the wall.

"Then again…maybe not…" Kurt muttered as the smarmy looking guy spun to a stop in front of them.  He had to be a mutant.  No human could move that fast.

He fanned out a series of shuriken in his hand like a Vegas card dealer might fan out the deck.  Kurt's eyes widened as he realised just how much damage the guy could inflict if he hurled them while spinning.

"Riptide!"  The other yelled at him.  "Don't even think about it.  We need him alive."

_'HIM…'_ Kurt echoed in his mind.  _'They are after me?'_  He glanced at Kitty.  He could tell by her expression that she had come to the same conclusion.

The one called Riptide returned the shuriken from wherever it was that he'd pulled them.  He grinned.  "Fine…" He said.  "I won't lay a finger on…_HIM_."  His hand flashed out and he had Kitty's wrist in his iron-like grip.  He spun her around so quickly she didn't even have time to think about phasing.  She impacted hard with the wall, her head making a resounding crack against it.

"_KITTY_!"  Kurt lunged forward, catching her before she could hit the ground.  He brushed back her hair, matted with blood.  "Kitty?" he repeated in little more than a whisper.  Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled weakly up at him.

Harpoon raised a brow and drew one of his namesake weapons from the pack on his back.  He walked silently towards the youngster as he lowered the girl gently to the ground now that he had ascertained that she was all right.  He knew he'd have one seriously ticked off little mutant on his hands in a moment.  He had to work fast.

He ignited his own powers.  Energy crackled around his weapon.  He aimed it at the boy's back…

Kitty's eyes widened as she saw Harpoon approach, his glowing weapon held high.  She was about to scream a warning when Harpoon brought it down...

Kurt shrieked as his shoulder exploded in pain.  He saw Kitty's horrified face splattered with blood, and realised it was his.  To add insult to injury, Harpoon lifted Kurt off the ground by raising the weapon embedded in his shoulder.  He pulled him back towards him.

"Never let your guard down on the battlefield, boy." He hissed in his ear.  "It can have disastrous results…"

Kurt gritted his teeth as he looked back at his would be captor.  Kitty noticed his tail as it slinked out of the inducer's field.  It snaked through the debris on the alley floor, scooping up as much of it as it could.  Kurt then quickly flicked it up, spraying the contents in Harpoon's face.

Harpoon dropped him as his hands instinctively went to his face.  "You little shit!"  He snarled.

Kurt reached for Kitty with his good arm.  He wasn't sure he had the strength to teleport.  But he had to try…

With a malicious grin, Riptide slammed a foot down on the harpoon in Kurt's shoulder.  There was a sickening tearing sound as it ripped through his flesh.  Kurt didn't have time to scream, he simply passed out.  So Kitty did it for him.

"Kid's got moxie…" Riptide commented as Harpoon scrapped the grit out of his face.  He kicked Kurt over onto his back, frowning at his torn shoulder.  "Boss ain't gonna like that…"

Harpoon crouched down beside him, checking his pulse.  "He's alive…" He muttered.  "Boss said we could use our imagination…"

Riptide turned his gaze on Kitty.  She whimpered and shuffled back into the shadows.  "What about the chick?"

"Leave her…" Harpoon said as he tore off Kurt's over-shirt and crudely bound his wound with it.  "He's not interested in first rounds…" He picked Kurt up and swung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.  "Let's go."  He headed for the street.

With a shrug, Riptide followed him.

~~~~~~

Xavier looked up from his book as Cerebro's alarm went off.  He made his way towards the chamber.

"New mutant signatures detected."  It intoned at him.  He looked at the screen showing five distinct patterns in three different locations.

"Identify."  He ordered.

"Signatures not on file."

He frowned.  _'Five new mutants?'_  Something didn't smell right about this.

"Show me the locations of our student body…and the Brotherhood." He added, almost as an afterthought.  A second series of signatures was superimposed over the others.  Sure enough, as he had expected, several intersected with the unidentified ones.

"Identify those in the vicinity of the new signatures."

A grid appeared over the top of the computerized map.  A horizontal line dropped from the top, a vertical one moved from one side.  When the crosshairs met over one pair, Cerebro spoke.  "Unidentified mutant signature…identified mutant signature…Pietro Maximoff."  The crosshairs moved on, paused again.  "Unidentified mutant signature…identified mutant signature…Kitty Pryde…identified mutant signature…Kurt Wagner…unidentified mutant signature."  The crosshairs moved on again, stopping at the next grouping.  "Identified mutant signature…Wanda Maximoff…unidentified mutant signature…unidentified mutant signature."

He touched his temples with his fingers.  "Kurt…?"  He questioned, reaching out with his mind.  His frown deepened when he received no answer.  "Kitty…?" He tried.

_'Professor…?'_ Her mental voice was groggy, indistinctive.  He could sense her fear.

"Stay where you are, Kitty…" He told her.  "We'll be there shortly."

_'No!'_ She mentally screamed at him.  _'You have to help Kurt!  They took him…they hurt him…'_

"Who Kitty?"  He asked.

_'Dunno…'_ She admitted.  _'Some guys…they were after Kurt…specifically…'_

He glanced back at the screen.  The five unidentified mutants were converging, with the other three identified ones. "Seems he wasn't the only one…"

_'What was that, Professor?'_  Kitty thought to him.  _'Think it again…'_

"It's all right, Kitty." He assured her.  "We'll take care of everything…"

He glanced at the Cerebro screen, noticing that two of the blips were very close to where the large clump were converging.  

"Identify the signatures to the immediate north-north east of the unidentified signatures." He ordered his machine. 

The crosshairs moved on again, stopping when they reached the aforementioned location.  "Identified mutant signature…Scott Summers…identified mutant signature…Jean Gray…" The mutant locator intoned.

"Perfect…" Xavier allowed himself a small smile.

~~~~~~

"…and two regular fries…" Scott said into the order box.

"That'll be seven twenty six…" The bored voice monotoned at him.  "Please move to the next widow…"

"Thanks…" Scott said as he released the handbrake.

_'Scott…Jean…'_

"Jeez…" Scott gasped at the sudden intrusion.

_'Kurt's in trouble…'_ He began.

_'When is Kurt _NOT_ in trouble?' _Jean thought back.

Scott glanced at her, happy to let her carry on the telepathic conversation while he paid for their order.  He looked at the bags as they were handed over by the bored teen. _'If we're meeting up with Kurt we should have ordered more food…'_

_'Perhaps…'_ The Professor agreed. _'But this is a serious matter.  From what I can get out of Kitty…Kurt, Wanda and Pietro appear to have been abducted by a group of highly efficient, unknown, mutants…'_

_'No…' _Scott gasped.  He had feared something like this…somebody hunting them down now that the existence of mutants was public knowledge.  But he hadn't expected the threat to come from their own kind.__

Jean immediately began scanning for Kurt.  "I can't get a fix on Kurt…" She said.__

_'Kitty said he'd been injured…'_ Xavier admitted. _'He may not be coherent enough for you to sense him…but you two are the closest to their location…you should be able to intercept them…delay them until backup can arrive.'_

_'How many?' _ Scott asked as he tried to casually pull out onto the street.

_'Five…'_

_'Any ideas on their powers?'_   Scott asked.  _'What we're up against?'_

_'I don't want you engaging them if it can be at all avoided, Scott.' _Xavier said._ 'A public battle between mutants is the last thing we need right now…'_

_'Yeah…'_ He agreed grimly.  _'Might look like gang warfare or something…'_

_'I've got a lock on Pietro…'_ Jean suddenly informed them.  "Remind me to feed him his teeth when this is over…" She said to Scott.  "His thoughts are disgusting!"

"He's a teenaged boy, Jean." Scott pointed out.  "We _ALL_ think like that."

"_YOU_ don't think like this…" She countered.  "The blue-furred flirt doesn't think like this…" She shuddered, fighting the sudden compulsion to head home for a very long, very hot shower.  "God, I feel dirty…"

~~~~~~

"So…" Pietro smiled warmly at the voluptuous blonde on his arm as they approached the impressive looking private jet.  "Tell me more about this…great opportunity…"

"My employer is only interested in the most superior of our kind."  She smiled back.  "He's had his eyes on you for sometime."

"Guy knows quality when he sees it, huh?"  He arched a brow.

"Most definitely." She led him inside.

"Oh, gag me."  A familiar, surly voice interjected.

"Wanda?" Pietro gaped at his sister.  "What are you doing here?"

"Our employer is interested in her as well."  The blonde smiled.  "Where are the others?"  She asked the very masculine looking woman with the extremely severe haircut.

"They're on their way."  She said curtly.

"Make yourself comfortable."  She beamed at Pietro.  "I have to help get us ready for take off."  He took a seat as far away from his sister as he possibly could.

~~~~~~

_'Are you getting anything?'_ Jean thought to Xavier.

_'Kurt should be very close to you…'_ He replied.  _'I can't pick up any thoughts, but Cerebro clearly shows you're in close proximity…'_

"Look for a van…" Kitty said to him as she entered, gently touching the thick, white bandage at her temple.  "New…silver…tinted windows…"

_'Jean…' _Xavier passed on the information.

"New, silver van with tinted windows…" She said aloud for Scott's benefit.  It was safer to keep him out of the loop, let him concentrate on his driving.

"Like that one?" He pointed out a vehicle fitting the description.

 _'C'mon, Kurt…'_ Jean thought towards it.  _'Give me a sign here…'_

She was just about to give up when she felt the briefest brush of a familiar mind.

_'KURT?'  _She all but screamed at it.

_'Jean…?'_  The mental reply was so weak she barely caught it.

"Kurt…" She said aloud.

"You got him?" Scott glanced at her briefly, saw the flash of her relieved smile.

_'Are you alright?' _She thought at him.

There was a noticeable lapse in his brain activity before he managed to reply.

~~~~~~

"No…"

Harpoon glanced at the passenger in the backseat with a frown.  He was sure he'd heard him speak, but it had been so soft it was possible that he'd been mistaken.  Or it could have just been an incoherent sound brought about by pain.  The young mutant whimpered with every bump and jostle of the van.  There was an obvious stain spreading on the seat beneath his shoulder.  Harpoon had laid him on his injury, hoping the boy's weight would work to help control the bleeding, but he wasn't looking good at all.  His breathing was ragged, he was continuously licking his lips and his tail was flicking about in a highly agitated manner.

He glared at his companion.  Riptide had made the wound much worse than it had needed to be.  True, this would make it impossible for the boy to access the infallible spatial awareness that Essex had warned him of.  The only problem now was whether or not he would live to make delivery. 

"Well…well…well" Riptide smirked as he checked the rear-view mirror.  "Looks like we got ourselves some tailgaters…"

"What? Where?" Harpoon focused on the side mirror.

"Red convertible…" Riptide pointed with his chin.  "Been following us for the last few blocks…" He glanced back as he heard the little freak let out what sounded like a laugh.  Sure enough, he was smiling.

"Friends of your, huh?"  Riptide smirked at him.  "Hope they can fly…"

~~~~~~

"What are you getting from them?" Scott asked.

"Not a lot…maybe they've been trained to block their thoughts or something…" Jean admitted.  

"Block their thoughts?" Scott questioned.  "Is that possible?"

"It's not so different to the mental wards the professor's been teaching us ever since the Mesmero incident…" She explained.  "I can get a little though.  One's very closed, but he seems worried about something.  And the other one…well, let's just say he could give Pietro lessons in smugness…"

"You mean there's someone who's a bigger jerk than Pietro?" Scott arched a brow.  "Wonders never cease…" 

The van very suddenly switched lanes.  It was all Scott could do to match it as it headed for a turnoff.

"Oh no…" He mumbled as he realised where they were heading.

"What?" Jean frowned.

"The airport…"

~~~~~~

"So what did she promise you?"  Wanda asked quietly breaking the long silence that had fallen over them.

"Power and wealth beyond my imagining."  Pietro told her.

Wanda rolled her eyes.  "You are so self serving."

"So what were you offered?"  He shot back.  "A makeup kit and all the black clothes you could want?"

"Control…" She said.  "Their employer can help me control my powers."

"Employer…" Pietro moved towards her.  "Say…did anybody tell you this _EMPLOYER'S_ name?"

"No…" She admitted.  "I was a bit suspicious of that…but I figured I can always take them down if things turn nasty…"

"True enough…"

They turned as one as a tall, snowy-haired man barged up the stairs and towards the cockpit.  "Let's get this show on the road."  They heard him say.  "We got company!"

They exchanged a worried glance.  Before either could say anything, another man entered, a rather familiar form draped over his shoulder.  "Riptide!"  He yelled.  "Get the damn door!"

"Keep yer shirt on!"  The blonde man returned, the severe haired woman with him.  He pulled the stairs in, sealing the door as the other man moved towards the two teens.  The woman watched as he tugged at the body on his shoulder, letting it slump into an overstuffed chair.

"_KURT_!" Wanda's eyes widened in horror.

"_SHIT_!" Pietro added.

"What the hell did you do to him?"  The woman demanded.  "The boss specified minimal damage."

"He's alive and breathing isn't he?"  The other shot back.

Kurt hissed through clenched teeth as his injury was slammed into the seat's back.  His image inducer was no longer engaged.  He looked pale, even through his light dusting of blue fur.  His golden eyes were glassy.  There was a dark stain on his red shirt, the beige over-shirt was so soaked with blood it almost matched.

"Oh my God…" Pietro whispered.  He'd never been Kurt's greatest supporter.  He usually led the insulting…but this…he glared at the adults.

"He was made the same offer as you…" The one called Riptide shrugged.

"Then why is he the only one bleeding?"  Wanda shot back.

"You'll find our employer doesn't take _NO_ for an answer."  The woman told them.

Wanda growled, thrusting her hands forward, her intention to knock them off their feet.  But nothing happened.  She looked at her hands in confusion.

"Whole plane's chock full of power dampeners."  Riptide smirked.  "For all intents and purposes…you're human…" He laughed as he headed back to the cockpit, the woman following.

"If I were you, I'd strap myself in…" Harpoon warned them.  "We're taking off."

Brother and sister exchanged a terrified glance.  Kurt glared at Harpoon as best he could, but he was barely able to hang on to consciousness.  Wanda fell into the seat beside him as the plane began to taxi.  She searched around Kurt, fishing for his seatbelt and strapping him in.  She then buckled her own belt.

"Oh…man…" Pietro mumbled to himself as he swayed in the aisle.  "What were we thinking?"

"Will you sit down and fasten your belt?"  Wanda growled at him.  "I don't want you both bleeding!"

"Right…" He stumbled into a seat and strapped himself in.  He looked at his sister with fearful eyes.  She had torn the curtain from the window and pressed it to Kurt's still bleeding shoulder.  The blue-furred mutant winced a little but otherwise stayed still.

"How can you be so calm when we've just been kidnapped?"  Pietro demanded.

"One of us has to stay sane here."  She pointed out.  "You don't seem a likely candidate…and Kurt's hardly in any condition to do much of anything…"

"But…what are we gonna do?"  He implored.

"We'll think of something."  She said, protecting Kurt as best she could.

~~~~~~

Scott ran threw Bayville's small airport terminal as quickly as he could without drawing attention to himself, Jean close behind.  The telepathic redhead was doing her best to cloud the thoughts of those around her about their passage, but there was only so much she could do in her current state of mind.  

She was worried about Kurt, Wanda and even Pietro.  From what little the professor could get out of Kitty, a little more clearly now that Rogue had retrieved her and brought her home, was that whoever it was that had abducted the trio knew exactly what they were doing.  Kurt had been badly hurt, his recent, slurred response to her mental probe had confirmed that, and she could only imagine what had happened to the twins.

Scott burst through the double glass doors onto the observation deck.  There were several small planes on the runways, all moving into taxing position.

"Jean?"  He snapped as she came up to the railing beside him.

She closed her eyes as she concentrated, reaching out with her mind, searching for the familiar touch of Kurt's thoughts.  She mentally kicked herself.  He'd been barely conscious when she'd linked with him before, he could be totally out of it by now.  She switched her efforts to Wanda.  She didn't know the sullen teen nearly as well, but she really didn't want to risk peeking inside Pietro's mind again.

"C'mon!"  Scott hissed, his tension obvious in his voice.

"I can't sense them…" She whispered.  "I can't sense them at all…" She altered her perception again._ 'Professor...?'_

_'I can't sense them either, Jean.'_ He admitted.  She could almost hear him frown. _'And Cerebro can't locate them now either.  How many planes are there?'_

_'Three…'_  She thought at him.

_"Odd…'_ He mused. _'I can only sense the passengers and crew of two…'_

Jean's attention snapped back to where she was.  The Professor was right.  She could pick up random thoughts from two of the planes, but the third was a total blank.

"That one!" She pointed out the plane that had, unfortunately, just left the ground.

"Damn!"  Scott muttered, his hand rising to his glasses.  "I think I can still hit it…"

"Are you crazy?!"  Jean grabbed his arm, spinning him away from his intended target.  "You're gonna blast them out of the sky?  The idea is to save them _NOT_ kill them!"

"But…" He began in protest.

"There are other ways of tracking them."  She said.

"Like how?"  He turned back, watching in anguish as the simple, jet-black plane lifted into the air.

"They're flying out of an airport, Scott." She said softly.  "They had to have logged a flight plan…it'll tell us where they're headed.  We'll find them, Scott."  She assured him.  "We'll get them back!"

Scott was trembling slightly.  He never had handled failure well.  But some failures were worse than others.

He had failed his best friend…

"Yes." Scott agreed firmly.  "We _WILL_ get them back."


	2. Chapter Two

**_I do not own these characters.  I do not pretend to own these characters.  They are, essentially, the property of Marvel Comics.  This is purely a work of fiction designed for the entertainment of others. No monetary gain will be made…_**

Generation Gap Chapter Two 

Wanda unbuckled her seatbelt and gently slipped her arm out from under Kurt as the plane levelled out.  She moved silently towards the front of the cabin, her eyes searching left and right.

"What are you doing?"  Pietro demanded.

"Looking for a first aid kit or something."  She looked back at Kurt.  His head hung forward, his face completely obscured by indigo hair.  "We've gotta get him patched up…or we're gonna have a dead elf on our hands…"

Pietro looked at the blue-furred X-Man in alarm.  "He's _THAT_ bad?"

"He's lost a lot of blood, Pietro."  She sighed.  "And it doesn't look like slowing…" She looked at her palm, stained from where she'd been holding the curtain to his injury during take off.  "If we're flying to wherever it is they're taking us it's gotta be a fair distance…he could very well bleed to death before we get there!"

"I think we should avoid that…" Pietro said quietly.

"You're actually concerned for another human being?"  She arched a brow.  "There may be hope fore you yet."

"Yeah, well…he's a freak…but I guess he's a nice freak…I don't wanna see him die…" He admitted.  "I also don't want to be stuck in here with a corpse…"

"You are a true humanitarian, Pietro…" Kurt mumbled.

Wanda pulled open one of the overhead compartments.  "Beer?"  She frowned.

"Well…if we can't patch him up we can all get nicely wasted…" Pietro smirked as he pulled open another compartment.  "Blankets…"

"They'll help…" Wanda nodded.

"Try under the seats…" Kurt suggested, his voice slurring.

Wanda crouched and felt beneath the seat closest to the door.  Her fingers found something hard, rectangular.  She dragged out a white metal box, emblazed with green crosses.

"Jackpot!"  Pietro beamed.  Then he realised something.  "Um…you _DO_ know first aid, right?"

"No…" She admitted. "Do you?"

They turned when they heard Kurt let out an exasperated breath.  "What _DID_ mother dear teach you people?"

"She pretty much left us on our own."  Pietro shrugged.

"Yeah…" Kurt looked at the floor, a definite tone of bitterness in his voice.  "She's good at that."  He looked up at them.  "Bring it here…"

Wanda placed it on the seat beside him, opening it as she did so.  He began rummaging through it with his good hand.  "There is a bathroom in the back?"  He asked.

Pietro headed towards the back of the cabin, pulling open the door he found there.  "Yep."  He reported.

"Get some vater…" Kurt said, fighting to remain focused on the task at hand.

"Right…" Pietro disappeared through the door.

Kurt looked up at Wanda.  "You squeamish?"

"Not really…" She replied.  "Why?"

"I can hardly bandage mein own Schulter, ja?"

She frowned.  She didn't have any trouble understanding what he said, but Kurt's English was usually very good, better than hers even.  He was slipping…

"I should be able to handle it…" She smiled, hopefully reassuringly.  "As long as you talk me through it…" She looked at the supplies he'd assembled in the lid of the first aid kit.  She had no idea where to even start.

"Scissors…" He said.

"Scissors?"  She repeated.

"Cut the shirt off…" Her eyes widened at the suggestion.  "You need easy access to the Wunde…and it vould not be a gut idea to pull it off over mein head…"

"Right…" She pulled the fabric away from his body carefully.  He winced slightly as she tugged it from where it was stuck to the injury.  She jabbed the scissors through and began cutting along the form-fitting sleeve.  She baulked when she saw the deep red gash in his soft blue flesh.  She swallowed the bile in her throat.

"You okay?"  He asked, trying to glance back at her and immediately regretting it.

"Yeah…" She said as she gulped in some air.  "It's just…well…quite a mess…"

"You don't have to tell me…" He chuckled slightly.  "To me it feels like the Grand Canyon…"

"Typical…" Pietro teased as he re-entered the main cabin.  "I'm gone for a few minutes and you've got his shirt…EUEW!"  He almost dropped the water when he saw the now revealed wound.

"I'm sure it von't be so bad once it is cleaned…" Kurt tried to reassure them.

"There is no way I am touching that!"  Pietro all but shrieked.

"It's just blood."  Wanda rolled her eyes at his reaction.  "I'll take care of it."

~~~~~~

Pietro pulled a face at the now very red bowl of water.  Kurt had drifted off again as Wanda gently cleansed the wound.

"Kurt?"  She questioned as she dropped the sodden rag she'd been using in the bowl.  She glanced at her brother.  "Get rid of that, will you?" She gestured at the scarlet liquid.

"Gross…" He grumbled as he lifted the bowl, holding it as far away from himself as possible as he headed towards the back of the plane.

"Kurt?" She gently shook his good shoulder.  He awoke with a start.  "You were right."  She said softly.  "It doesn't look nearly so bad now that it's cleaned up."

"Vhat does it look like?"  He asked.  "How big…how deep?"

"Couple of inches long…pretty deep…not so deep that I can see bone or anything…"

Kurt frowned.  "Feels vorse…"

Truthfully, it _WAS_ worse.  A deep, ugly trench was torn in the muscle of his shoulder.  She didn't know much about such things, but she'd lay money that the shoulder would never be what it was.  It was one of those injuries that would plague him forever…the sort old people complained about when the weather was bad.  But she didn't want to worry him with that right now…

"It's still bleeding…" She told him.  "Not nearly so much though…"

"Okay…" Kurt licked his lips.  "The pad…" He gestured towards the sealed package.  She tore it open.  It was a thick wad of fabric, obviously for absorbing the blood.  She placed it over his injury.  "Ja…that is right…" He nodded.  "Now…" he raised his good arm.  "Bind it…firmly but not tightly…ve don't vant to cut off the circulation…I vould like have two arms vhen this is over…"

She began winding the thick crepe bandage around his chest and shoulder, carefully trying to match the grain of his fur.  She knew animals didn't like it when they were patted against the grain…she could only imagine how uncomfortable such a thing must be for Kurt.

_'The things he has to put up with…'_ She thought. 

"Okay?" She asked as she finished.  "Not too tight?"

"Nein…it is fein…" He took a few deep breaths.  "Now…" He gestured weakly towards the final package.  Wanda pulled out a large, triangular piece of cloth.  "Sling…" He rasped.  "Immobilise the arm…lessen…the drag…on…the shoulder…"

"C'mon, Kurt…" She said.  "Stay with me…" She gently strapped his injured arm to his chest.

"Help me…to the…couch…" He gestured towards the row of seats that lined the wall opposite the door.

"Let me…" Pietro slung Kurt's good arm over his shoulder.  "He's heavier than he looks…"

"How'd you know that?"  Wanda frowned.

"He's nothing but muscle…" Pietro pointed out.  "Muscle is heavy…and Mystique said something about him having more muscles than normal…" He chuckled as Kurt stretched out on the soft white cushions.  "Serve 'em right if you bleed all over their cushions…"

"I'll see vhat I can do…" Kurt mumbled as he put his feet up on the arm.  "Vhere ist that decke…"

"Decke?" Pietro arched a brow.

"I though you knew Deutche…"

Wanda threw her brother a blanket.

"Oh…right…" Pietro beamed.  "Decke…" He draped it over Kurt.

"Anything else we can do?"  Wanda asked.

"Just make sure I keep breathing…don't let me overheat…" Kurt told her.  "Say varm encouraging things to me…"

"Such as?"  Pietro asked.

"'Everything is going to be alright, Kurt…', 'Ve vill get out of this just fine, Kurt…', things like that…"

"You're not gonna buy that…" Pietro pointed out.

"Perhaps not…" Kurt admitted.  "But it vould be good to hear…"

~~~~~~

"I can't believe they got away…" Scott whispered.

Jean was doing her best to comfort him, but she knew exactly how he felt.  And she would of even if she hadn't been a telepath.  They'd already lost Evan, and though his departure had been voluntary, and he wasn't in any kind of danger, the loss of a team-mate still hung heavily over their heads.

But Kurt was in real danger.  He was already injured, and they had no idea who had taken him or their reason for doing so.

And what of Wanda and Pietro?  Why had that particular group been singled out?

"Any geneticist worth their PhD would _LOVE_ to get their hands on Kurt…" Hank was saying.  "He's a fascinating subject…so obviously human, and yet so obviously not…"

"Perhaps…" Xavier agreed.  "But what of the other two?  Pietro and Wanda are not such obvious mutants…" 

"_AND_ they were abducted by mutants…" Kitty pointed out from her seat at the computer.  She'd spent the better part of the afternoon trying to hack into the airport's system to download the flight plan of their mysterious jet, but so far had failed to do so.  "I mean, if a geneticist already has mutants on the payroll, why would they go after more?"

Xavier frowned.  "What connects them?"

"Maybe it's a ransom thing…" Rogue suggested quietly.

"Ransom?" Xavier arched a brow.

"Well…" She went on.  "_HIS_ Momma and _THEIR_ Popa…well…given' their track record…they probably got lotsa enemies out there…and we all seen Mystique's twisted devotion to Kurt…she'd probably do anythin' to get him back…"

"True…" Logan agreed.  "But Magneto don't seem to care squat about his kids…"

"He seems to like Pietro well enough…" Rogue pointed out.  "It's like he's his own little mini me or somethin'…"

"It would explain why they weren't interested in Kitty." Jean nodded sagely.

"But what did they mean when they called me a first rounder?"  She asked, spinning her chair to face them.

"First rounder?" Xavier frowned.

"The one that skewered Kurt…" She cringed as she said it.  "He said that _HE_…whoever _HE_ is…has no interest in first rounds…"

The group exchanged a series of puzzled glances, none sure what it could mean.

None but one, anyway.

"Oh my God…" Hank said, eyes wide.  "They're second generation…"

"What?" Scott frowned at the blue, furry scientist.

"Second generation mutants…" Hank extended.  "The mutant offspring of mutant parents…quite possibly the first of their kind!"

"How does that make a difference?" Rogue asked.  "Are you sayin' they're more mutant than the rest of us?"

"Essentially…" Hank was on a roll now.  "Think about it!  Wanda's immensely powerful…Kurt's got multiple powers…"

"He does?"  Kitty questioned.

"Of course…his physical adaptations have nothing to do with his teleportation ability.  List everything he can do…the agility…the ability to stick to just about anything…his spatial awareness…the eyes…the tail…it's quite a list…"

"And Pietro?" Scott arched a brow.  "_HE'S_ not really powerful…and all he does is move real fast."

"True…" Hank agreed.  "But all three of them came into their powers earlier than the rest of us."

"They did?" Kitty questioned.

"Yes…they did." Xavier nodded.  "I don't know about Pietro, but Wanda was institutionalised when she was still a child…complete with uncontrollable powers.  And Kurt was born looking the way he does…his adoptive parents told me he was quite a handful…"

"And he said he'd been teleporting all his life!"  Kitty added.

"Well…" Scott interjected.  "That might explain why they were taken…but not by _WHO_!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Kitty returned to her work.  "I'm on it…"

~~~~~~

It seemed like hours had ticked by.  Kitty sat hunched over the keyboard.  Scott paced the length of the room.  Jean tried to read a book.  Rogue stared moodily out the window.

"All hail the goddess of computing!" Kitty exclaimed, suddenly as she wheeled back from the computer, grabbing the page from the printer even before it had finished and brandishing it over her head.

Scott snatched it from her and began scanning it.  "Owned by one N. Essex…resident of London…oh no…" the colour visibly drained from his face.

"What?"  Kitty looked at him, wide eyed.  "What is it?"

"Flight plan says they were heading for Montreal…" He looked up.  "They're out of the country."

"Without passports…" Kitty added.  "At least it's Canada…they won't get into big trouble with customs…"

"Ah hate to burst ya bubble and all…" Rogue interjected.  "But just because it says they went to Montreal it doesn't mean they did…"

"C'mon, Rogue…" Scott began.

"No…" Kitty shook her head sadly.  "She's right.  These guys were creepy…sneaky…I wouldn't put it past them to like totally fabricate their documentation…"

"In their place…Ah'd do it…" Rogue added.

"They could be anywhere…" Kitty shoulders sagged.

"_DAMN_!"  Scott growled.  He turned on Jean.  "Other ways of finding them, huh?"

"I don't care for your tone, Scott."  She shot back.  "Can you find out if the plane arrived in Montreal from there?"  Jean asked Kitty, indicating the computer.

"I can try…" She said, turning back to her work.

"I'm gonna ask the professor if he's heard of this Essex guy…" Scott said as he left the room, grimly clutching the print out.  "There's something familiar about that name…"

~~~~~~

"Essex?"  Xavier arched a brow.  "I can't say it's a name I'm familiar with…"

"I have to agree with Scott…" Hank said.  "There _IS_ something familiar about it…but I can't for the life of me say why…"

 "So what's our next move?" Scott asked.  "Kitty's seeing if the flight plan's accurate…but there's gotta be more that we can do…"

"Perhaps we can get Kitty to do some sort of search on the Internet." Ororo suggested.  "There can't be too many Londoners named Essex with the financial power to own their own jet."

"Yes…" Xavier agreed.  "And as much as I'm loath to suggest it…I think we should bring Mystique in on this…"

"Are you nuts?!" Scott exploded.  "After all she's pulled…"

"She has connections that we don't…" Xavier pointed out.  "She may very well know who this Essex is."  He sighed deeply.  "If nothing else, she should at least be told about what's happened to her son…"

"She doesn't deserve to call him son…" Scott grumbled.

"She had her reasons for what she did, Scott." Xavier said.  "And I do believe that Kurt has had an effect on her…"

"And the Elf's probably better off _NOT_ being raised by her…" Logan added.  "Can you imagine what he'd've been like?"

~~~~~~

Pietro's eyes fluttered open, widening quickly when he remembered where he was.  He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but they'd been travelling so long he really couldn't help himself.  Now he had no idea what time it was.

_'Man I wish I wore a watch…' _He thought.

The cabin was fairly dark now, illuminated by dim lights set in the roof above the row of overhead compartments.  There was no light coming from outside now, the windows now totally black.  Night had come without him knowing.

_'Must have been hours since we left Bayville…'_

Then he remembered Kurt.

The X-Man had been in a bad way.  He really needed proper medical attention.  His head flicked towards where he'd been sleeping on the couch.  Wanda had fallen asleep in the seat near his head, her hand still resting on his indigo hair from where she'd been soothingly stroking it.  Kurt was still obviously pale, even in the dim light, but his breathing was regular and he at least looked comfortable.

_'And _HE'S_ got a watch…' _Pietro thought as he eyed the chunky timepiece that also housed his holographic projector.

Wanda stirred as she heard Pietro move towards them.  "What time is it?"  She asked, still a little groggy.

"That's what I was about to find out." Pietro said as he reached for Kurt's left wrist.__

Kurt awoke with a snort at the sudden jostle of his arm, sitting up instinctively, and letting out a shriek as his shoulder exploded with pain.

"Hey!"  Wanda scolded.  "Be careful!"  She gently pushed him back down.

He sighed.  "Not a dream, then…"

"Afraid not…" Pietro confirmed.

"How long have I been out?"  He asked.

"Not sure…" Pietro admitted.  "Quite a while…it's dark out now…"

"You're looking a little better."  Wanda smiled shyly.  "You're a deeper shade of blue…"

Kurt raised his arm and looked at his watch.  "Eleven seventeen…ve have been airborne for over twelve hours…or at least on this plane for over twelve hours…" He closed his eyes.  "Have ve changed direction at all?"

"Not sure…" Pietro frowned.  "Why?"

"I am trying to figure out vhere ve are…"

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" Pietro arched a brow.

"Are we over vater?"

Wanda leaned over and peered out the window.  It was dark, and they were quite high up, but she could see moonlight reflecting off the waves.  "Yeah…" she confirmed.  "It's all I can see…" She looked at the elfin X-Man.  "How did you know that?"

"Ve are heading in a north-easterly direction."  He explained.  "Nothing much east of Bayville but the Atlantic ocean…"

"How the hell can you tell we're heading in a north-easterly direction?"  Pietro demanded.

"All part and parcel of my teleportation ability…" He smiled weakly.  "I am mentally attuned to the earth's lay lines…to latitude and longitude…I need to be so I can travel along them when I teleport…or so Forge and Beast tell me…it is all instinctual for me…" 

"They've actually analysed how your power works?"  Wanda asked.

"Ja…" Kurt shrugged.  "Personally I can think of much better things to fill my spare time…"

"So we're heading for Europe?"  Pietro asked.

"Ja…" Kurt agreed.  "Looks like ve are going home…"

"These guys don't mess about do they?"  Wanda said, looking more than a little nervous.  "We're a long way from any help…"

"They're never gonna track us down!" Pietro cried out.

"And without our powers…" Wanda added.

"You just had to bring that up, didn't you…" Pietro mumbled.

"They did something to us?"  Kurt asked, his golden eyes filling with fear.

"Nah…" Pietro growled.  "Plane's got power dampers in it…" He paused as he had a thought.  "So all we gotta do is wait until we land…bust out…and we're gone!"

"Of course!" Kurt said with mock enthusiasm.  "I am just so sure that they never thought of that!"  He became suddenly serious.  "They are professionals, Pietro…they have probably planed for just about every contingency…"

"Okay, okay…" Pietro grumbled.  "No need to rub it in…"

"And I vouldn't be surprised if they are listening in on us right now…" He added.  "So they vill be prepared if ve do decide to plan something…"

~~~~~~

"Heh…" Riptide chuckled to himself.  "Little fuzzball's pretty smart!"

Scalphunter snorted.  "Either that, or he's watched way too many movies…"

~~~~~~

"If they are listening in I hope they plan on feeding us pretty soon…" Pietro mumbled.  He arched a brow at the look he got from his companions.

"You think you're the only one with an accelerated metabolism?"  He asked.

"It's true…" Wanda looked at Kurt.  "He used to practically inhale his food when we were kids…"

"Hardly surprising vhen you're stuck on fast forward…"


	3. Chapter Three

**_I do not own these characters.  I do not pretend to own these characters.  They are, essentially, the property of Marvel Comics.  This is purely a work of fiction designed for the entertainment of others. No monetary gain will be made…_**

Generation Gap Chapter Three 

Mystique looked up at the newly rebuilt mansion, somewhat amazed that it had been completed so quickly.  She wasn't sure what she was doing here, why she had even bothered to answer Xavier's summons.  But he had said the lives of several of their young charges depended on it.  Just which young charges he had failed to impart to her.

"I'm not so sure this is a good idea."  Avalanche said to her right.  "I mean…we're walking straight into the lion's den…so to speak…"

"Aw c'mon…" Toad rolled his eyes.  "You really think these goody goods are gonna jump us?"  He dug something out of his ear, examined it, then flicked it into the nearby shrubbery.  "Besides…we were invited…"

"_I_ was invited, Toad." Mystique corrected him.  "You three are only here for back up."

"Back up?" Avalanche arched a brow.  

"You didn't think I'd walk into the lion's den…so to speak…alone, now did you?"

"So how come you didn't invite the terrible twins to this little shindig?"  Avalanche asked.

"I couldn't find them…" Mystique admitted with a slight frown.  Xavier had said something about some of the young mutants being in danger.  Was he referring to them?

Before she could ponder any further, the door swung open.  Xavier sat there, flanked by Wolverine and Storm.  Mystique could see most of the mansion's other residents lingering just behind.

"Raven."  He nodded his head in way of acknowledgment.  

"Charles."  She answered with a slight frown.  He so rarely called her by name.  Doing so now set her on edge.  The last time had been when he'd cone to her office to discuss her son…

Xavier turned to allow the quartet access.  Wolverine watched with narrowed eyes as the three Brotherhood boys followed their blue-skinned leader into the main foyer.  "You three better be on yer best behaviour…or I'll drop ya where ya stand."  He promised them.  Storm threw him a disapproving look, but said nothing.

Xavier ushered Mystique into his private study, Ororo following silently, pointedly closing the door behind them.  Hank was already inside, looking up as the trio entered.

"So what's this all about, Xavier?"  Mystique demanded.  "Your invitation wasn't exactly forthcoming…"

"Does the name Essex mean anything to you?"  Xavier said quietly.  "More specifically a N Essex?"  The colour drained from Mystique's face.  There was genuine fear in her golden eyes.  Xavier arched a concerned brow of his own.  "I take it by your expression that you know him?"

"Only by reputation."  She admitted.  "Doctor Nathaniel Essex…"

"Doctor of what?"  Hank asked with genuine curiosity.

"Medicine."  Mystique informed him.  "He's a surgeon.  The sort that performs a lot of unnecessary surgery…" She looked at Xavier.  "If he's the one involved in whatever it is you're concerned about…if he's abducted some of our children…" several brows arched at the mention of _OUR_ children. "We have to get them back…yesterday!"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple."  Xavier sighed.  "He seems to have been very well organised.  This…abduction…was very well thought out.  They were out of the country before we even got a bead on them…"

"_WHO_ was out of the country?"  Mystique demanded.  Xavier looked away, obviously not too eager to tell her.  "_WHO_ did he take?"  His reluctance all but confirmed the growing fear in the pit of her stomach.

He looked at her then.  He could tell by the look in her eyes that she knew exactly who had been taken.

~~~~~~

Kurt awoke again, but remembered this time not to move suddenly.  He stretched his limbs gingerly, favouring his injured shoulder.  He was relieved that he didn't feel any worse.  Of course, he didn't feel any better either.  

He tried to flick his tail, but it must have been caught on something because it wouldn't move.  He followed it down in the hopes that he could locate the problem and dislodge it.  He was a little stunned to find Wanda, curled up on the floor beside the couch, hugging his tail like a teddy bear, the bladed tip lay against the soft curve of her cheek.

He heard the hiss of a drink can opening.  He turned his attention towards the sound.  Pietro saluted the blue-furred mutant with the beer can in his hand.

"You are drinking hot beer?"  Kurt questioned.

"There's nothing else around here."  Pietro shrugged.

"You are under age."  Kurt pointed out.

"Phwah…" Pietro took a swig.  "With my metabolism this stuff burns up before it can even have an effect on my system."  He eyed the other mutant.  "I'm betting you'd find things the same.  Even if you don't…you're German…isn't this stuff like milk to you guys?"

"You are stereotyping me."  Kurt frowned.  He flinched as Wanda moved in her sleep and accidentally pulled on his tail.  "How long has she been like this?"  He asked.

"Coupla hours…" Pietro informed him.  "Isn't she _CUTE_?"

"Adorable."  Kurt grumbled as she yanked on his tail again.

"Pity I haven't got a camera…" Pietro mused as he eyed his slumbering sister.  "This'd make great blackmail material…"

Kurt looked at his watch.  "Jeez…" He groaned.  "Ve must be over Europe by now…"

Pietro leaned over and looked out the window.  "Hard to say…but we are over a city…" He said.  "Decent sized one too…no landmarks I recognise…but then I was only four when I left Europe…"  

Kurt struggled to sit up.  Pietro noticed and was at his side in an instant.  "Be careful…" He frowned with uncharacteristic concern.  "You don't want to start bleeding again…"

"I have a more up-to-date memory of European cities…" Kurt hissed as he leaned towards the window.  "I should be able to figure out vhere ve are…" He frowned as he took in the buildings below, trying to focus a little more clearly.  They were old, stone.  The streets were narrow, weaving every which way.

"I'm guessing central Europe…" Kurt said as he lay back down.  "Switzerland, maybe…or Austria…could be Czechoslovakia…" 

"Isn't that the Czech Republic now?"  Pietro smirked.

"Picky, picky…" Kurt mumbled.  He stopped suddenly, looking around.  His somewhat frantic movements pulled his tail from Wanda's grasp, awakening her.

"What is it?"  She asked, noticing his agitation.

"Ve are landing…" Kurt said.  

"How can you tell that?"  Pietro asked.

"Ve are losing speed and altitude…"

"And how do you know _THAT_?"  Wanda asked this time.

"It is part of my power…" Kurt shrugged with his good shoulder.  "I can feel our change of direction…"

"You can't be…" Pietro shock his head.  "The plane's full of power dampers…we can't use our powers…"

"Really?"

"That's what they told us."  Wanda said.

"The nice people who kidnapped us?"  Kurt arched a brow, obviously amused at their trust in their abductors.

"I tried to use my powers to get us out of here."  Wanda growled at him.  "They didn't work."

"Neither do mine…" Pietro added.

Kurt frowned in concentration for a moment, then he brightened.  "You have to concentrate to use your powers, yes?"

"Well duh!"  Pietro mocked.

"I only have to concentrate to teleport…" Kurt said.  "All my other gifts are instinctive…or totally physical…I do not have to think about them at all…" He touched the wall, feeling his fingers adhere as per usual.  "Perhaps their so-called power dampener merely hampers our ability to concentrate…"

"So someone like Cyclops wouldn't be affected…" Pietro mused.  "'Cos he doesn't need to concentrate…he can't turn his powers off…"

"Precisely..." Kurt beamed.

~~~~~~

Riptide chuckled to himself.  "Boss ain't gonna like that the little freak figured that out…"

"It won't matter."  Harpoon replied.  "It's not like it'll do 'em any good once he gets through with 'em."

"We about to set down…" Riptide noted as he glanced out the window.  "Time to put our babies to bed…"

~~~~~~

Pietro began to sniff the air.  "God…what is that smell?"  Kurt and Wanda began to mimic him.

"Some sort of gas…" Wanda frowned.

"Knock out gas…" Pietro's eyes widened momentarily before they suddenly felt extremely heavy.  He collapsed into a seat.

"Told you they'd have it planned…" Kurt yawned.

"Nobody likes a guy who says 'I told you so'…" Pietro sneered.

"But I…didn't…say…" His head fell back, his eyes closed.

The trio were soon fast asleep.

~~~~~~

Nathaniel Essex watched with great anticipation as his private plane taxied towards him.  He allowed himself a triumphant smile.  His underlings had managed to snatch the trio right out from under the overprotective noses of their respective mentors.

They no doubt knew what had happened.  And he also knew that they would have connected him to the abduction by now.  He hadn't exactly been trying to hide the fact.  He had been studying them all from afar for some time now.  He knew what each and every one of them could do.  He was confident that they proved no threat.

Besides, he wanted them to know _WHO_ had the children, just not _WHERE_ he had them.

"Hey boss!" Riptide smirked as he jumped down from the still opening door.  "Mission accomplished!"

"Yes…" Essex arched a brow at him.  He looked up as Scalphunter emerged, the unconscious Pietro slung over his shoulder.  Archlight followed with Wanda.  Vertigo was next, glancing back with a face full of fear.  Essex frowned as Harpoon disembarked, a very pale Kurt cradled in his arms.

"Put the Maximoffs in with the others."  He said quietly to Scalphunter and Archlight.  The pair moved off to follow his instructions.  He checked Kurt's pulse, then pried open an eye to check his pupil dilation, more than a little perplexed to find that he didn't appear to have any.  He frowned at Harpoon when he prodded at the bandaged shoulder.

"Take him to the infirmary…" He growled.  "_NOW_!"

He watched as Harpoon disappeared into the dilapidated looking castle that was his current home.

"You two!"  He snapped at the remaining Riptide and Vertigo.  "Look after my plane!"

~~~~~~

Theresa looked up as the door hissed open.  She glanced to where David was sitting, silent as always, playing some overly violent video game.  The boy hadn't even reacted to the intrusion.

Archlight and Scalphunter entered carrying two immobile teenagers, laying the pair relatively gently on some convenient couches.  

"Brought you a couple of new playmates."  Scalphunter smiled at her.  The pair exited, locking the door behind them.

Theresa looked at them.  A pale-skinned, fair-haired boy and a dark-haired girl.  There was something similar in the structure of their faces, the shape of their noses.  She figured they were related in some way.

She sighed deeply in totally sympathy for the newcomers.  She knew they were in for a world of hurt.

~~~~~~

Essex almost winched in sympathy as he cut the bandages away from Kurt's shoulder, revealing the ugly gash beneath.  As soon as the wrappings were removed it started bleeding again.

"I said I wanted incoherent…" He looked at Harpoon.  "Not impaled!"

Harpoon wouldn't meet his eye, and Essex could tell from his body language that there was something he wasn't telling him.  Essex had a feeling he knew what it was.

"Riptide did this, didn't he?"

Harpoon looked up quickly, then away just as fast.  He sighed.  "The kid tried to make a break for it…"

Essex held up his hand to stop him.  "Don't…" He shook his head.  "I don't want to hear it."  He turned his attention back towards the injured youngster.  "I often wonder why I keep that sadistic little bastard around!" He grumbled as he began cleaning the wound.  "Tell him I want two coats of wax on my plane…"

~~~~~~

Pietro groaned and massaged his temples.  He risked opening his eyes.  When nothing bad seemed to happen he decided it was safe to sit up.

"I'd say welcome…" A feminine voice with a distinct brogue spoke.  "But not here…"

He looked at the pretty strawberry blonde who had spoken.

"Who are you?"  He demanded.  "Where am I?  What the _HELL_ is going on?"

"My name is Theresa."  She said.  "As to where you are and what's going on…" She sighed.  "You're guess is as good as mine."

"Great…" He grumbled.  Then he noticed his surroundings.  

"Will you get a load of this place?" He whistled in awe despite himself.  The majority of one wall was comprised of a wide-screen plasma television set.  On the adjacent wall was a video and DVD collection that could put Blockbuster to shame.  Every available video game system, along with an impressive collection of games were lined up beneath the massive screen alongside a state-of-the-art, top-of-the line VCR and DVD player.

On the wall opposite the impressive selection of movies was an equally impressive collection of books.  Both fiction and non-fiction, on every subject known to man.  There was a decent sized opening next to the library that led to a kitchen, which, Pietro had no doubt, was stocked with everything and anything they could possible desire. The remaining wall was lined with doors, five of them.

"Bedrooms." Theresa said as his eyes lingered on them curiously for a while.  

"All this stuff…" Pietro spun to encompass the room.  "It's all for us?"

"He wants us to think he's our friend instead of our captor…" She said in a whisper.

"This is _GREAT_!"  Pietro beamed as he began to study the movies collection.

"Yer missin' the point."  Theresa said, her accent growing thicker as her anger rose.  "No matter how gilded the cage…it's still a cage!"

"Oh, c'mon…" Pietro smirked at her.  "If this is a dungeon…then chain me to the wall!"

"Pietro?"  Wanda said suddenly, waking with a start at the sound of his voice.

"It's cool, Wanda…" He said to his sister.  "We're safe…"

"Where's Kurt?"  She looked around quickly, failing to locate the blue-furred X-Man, oblivious to the treasures around them.

"Kurt?" Theresa echoed.

"He's a…" Pietro paused, wondering just how to put it.  "He's a friend…" He decided.

"They only brought you two in…" Theresa informed them.

"He was with us."  Wanda insisted.  "He was injured…"

"Injured?" Theresa looked truly frightened.  "They must have taken him to…" She trailed off.

"Taken him where?"  Wanda asked.  "To who?"

~~~~~~

Essex tossed the bloody gloves casually into a nearby bin.  He leaned in closely to examine his work.  He couldn't remember ever doing better.  Sewing the muscle fibre back together in a way that only he could.  There would be a scar, but a barely discernable one.  In fact, once the fur grew back, it would be totally invisible.

He checked the intravenous drip that was replacing the fluids the boy had lost during his journey.  He couldn't help but smile at his innocently peaceful face.  Young mister Wagner was far more resilient than he seemed.  A lesser being would not have survived the trip.  A couple of days and he'd be as good as new.  

He cast his eyes over the boy's uniquely shaped limbs.  The tail undulated slowly, never resting, coiling and uncoiling around whatever it came into contact with.  The rail of the bed, a misshapen foot, a slender ankle.  He was truly an amazing find.

"I look forward to studying you in greater detail, my young furry friend…" Essex smiled at him, sinisterly.

~~~~~~

Even after all she'd put them through, Ororo couldn't help but feel sorry for her.  Of all of them, she was truly the only one with a bond with all three of the missing youngsters.

One far more so than the others…

Mystique sat quietly, staring into the brandy balloon in her hands.  Ever since Xavier confirmed that Kurt had indeed been one of the mutants abducted, Raven had lapsed into a remorseful silence.  Hank had thought the brandy might help to calm her nerves, but she had only gazed at the amber liquid.

"Why…?"  She said finally, softly.  She looked up at Xavier, here eyes filled with unshed tears.  "Why him?  He's never hurt a soul…"

"I know…" Xavier agreed.

"God!" Mystique slumped back in her chair.  "First Magneto…now Essex…why must these megalomaniacs experiment on him?  Isn't he…different…enough already?"  She sighed deeply.  Xavier didn't mean to pry, but he couldn't help sense her thoughts at that moment.  She blamed herself for Kurt's appearance, and all he'd suffered because of it. He had, after all, inherited his looks for her.

"Hank believes it has something to do with the fact that Kurt and the twins are second generation mutants."  Xavier said softly.

She looked at him again.  "Second generation?"

"Mutant offspring of mutant parents."  He explained.

_'So it's my fault again…'_ She thought.

"You can't blame yourself for this, Raven."  He said gently.

She glared at him.  "Are you dipping into my thoughts?"

"Not intentionally."  Xavier assured her.  "Some thoughts…some emotions…are impossible to hide."  She looked away, equal parts angry and embarrassed.  Xavier smiled sadly.  "You shouldn't be ashamed about caring for you son…" He told her.  

"He is my weakness…" She whispered.  "I don't like having a weakness!"  She growled.

"Now, Raven." Xavier tried to smile.  "We all have our weaknesses.  We are…after all…only human."


	4. Chapter Four

**_I do not own these characters.  I do not pretend to own these characters.  They are, essentially, the property of Marvel Comics.  This is purely a work of fiction designed for the entertainment of others. No monetary gain will be made…_**

Generation Gap Chapter Four 

Theresa had never been an early riser.  But since she'd been brought to this awful place she was averaging about three hours a night.  She just couldn't sleep any longer.  She was too nervous.  Though she was yet to meet their mysterious host, she had seen what the meeting had done to David.  He'd been a fairly average eleven-year-old boy when they'd first met, albeit, as terrified as she was.  But then he'd been taken…she had no idea where…

He'd been gone for the better part of a week, and when he'd been returned to their opulent cell he had completely withdrawn into himself.  He was slowly recovering, he'd play videogames all day, violent ones, where he'd get to take out his frustrations on computer-generated opponents, but he still refused to speak a word.  As the older of the two, Theresa had felt somewhat responsible for his well-being.  She made food for him, made sure he ate it.  Saw him to bed, made sure he changed clothes and kept himself clean.

She staggered out into the main room, fed up with tossing and turning at the images in her head refused to give her any peace.  She paused outside David's door, as per usual, but he was sleeping soundly.  She glanced at the doors that lead to the other sleeping compartments.  The twins, Pietro and Wanda as they had introduced themselves to her, had fought over who was to get which room, until she pointed out that they had already been assigned, each equipped to accommodate them, including a rather impressive wardrobe for each occupant.

They weren't children like David, they were the same age as she, but she couldn't shake her role as big sister.  She was about to crack the door on Wanda's room when she heard a faint sound from the remaining room, the one closest to the kitchen.  The one that was supposed to be empty…

The door was slightly ajar, so she pushed it open.  Even in the darkness she could see the various platforms, hoops and bars that adorned the walls and ceiling.  She'd found the décor of this particular room rather puzzling when she'd first arrived.  Who could possibly feel at home in such a place?

Her attention was drawn to the bed when she heard a soft murmur.  She tiptoed over, freezing when its occupant shifted slightly.  He let out a pained whimper as he settled on his side but remained asleep.   He was facing her now, and she knew exactly who he was.  

_'They must have brought him in sometime last night…' _She mused.

Pietro and Wanda had told her of him, gone into quite some depth in fact.  They had explained that he was more than a little different, but as she looked at him now she really couldn't see it.  But then, his eyes were closed, and he was so snuggled down amongst the blankets that even his ears where hidden.  And the darkness of the room had reduced everything to shades of grey.  His face…his hair…both looked completely normal…

He winced and began to toss in his sleep.  David had been the exact same way when they'd brought him back.  She reached out to brush his forehead, to soothe him as she had the young Israeli.  She let out an involuntary gasp when she felt the soft fuzz beneath her fingers.

"Shhh…" She smiled at him even though he couldn't see it.  She began to sing softly, a gentle lullaby she remembered from her youth.  "Yer safe…" She sighed.  "At least as safe as ya can be 'round here…"

His eyes opened slightly, drowsily, and she was certain for a moment that they had flashed with their own light.  They focused on her, confused for a moment, then snapped open.  He scuttled away from her as far as he could without falling off the far side of the bed, pulling the bedding up to his chin.  She could see the unusual configuration of his hands now, but she'd been prepared for that.  The tail flicking back and forth behind him was a little more disconcerting, but she managed to keep her cool.

"I'm Theresa…" She said to him, smiling slightly, hoping to put him at ease.

He looked down at himself, suddenly realising just how much of him was exposed.  The tail stilled through some conscious effort.  He studied her for a moment, with more than a little trepidation…

"You are not afraid of me…?" He questioned.

"Around here…" She said softly.  "There are far worse things to be afraid of…"

Kurt looked down at his lap as he absorbed this.  Theresa watched him for a moment, she knew exactly how he felt.

"I'm bettin' yer hungry…" She said as she pulled open the doors of the massive built in wardrobe.  She selected a simple shirt and a pair of overly baggy jeans and tossed them on the bed.  Kurt touched the denim garment, a little shocked to find that they had been tailored for him.  The cuffs were wide to accommodate his less than usual feet, and there was a neat hole sewn into the seat for his tail.

"How long has this guy been vatching us?"  He wondered aloud.

"Best not to think about it…" she said.  "Bathroom's over there…" She pointed to a door on the opposite wall.  "I'll see ya outside when yer ready…" She left, closing the door behind her.

He slipped out of bed and made his way to the bathroom.  He flicked on the light and immediately checked the mirror.  He'd seen enough movies to know that they were the ideal location for hidden cameras.  But it was small, and opened to reveal a completely ordinary looking cabinet filled with the usual assortment of soap, toothpaste, brushes, combs and, he noted, several large packets of adhesive bandages.  He checked everywhere he could think of for hidden surveillance equipment, but could find nothing.

_'I'm getting paranoid in my old age…'_ He thought.  Then he realised he'd been stripped to his lurid green boxers.  As if suddenly remembering what happened, he spun back towards the mirror, turning in such a way as to examine his injured shoulder.  It felt surprisingly good as he rolled it, considering what it had felt like, it was just a little stiff.  There was a small patch of adhesive bandaging covering it, very similar to the packages in the cabinet.   He tried to reach it with his left hand but it was just out of reach.  Anyone else would have been stumped, but Kurt just brought up his tail and began prodding it gently with the spaded tip.

It hurt a little, but like any curious youngster he was way too keen to explore it.  He felt along the edge, noting how smooth the surrounding area was.  He'd been shaved.

_'Well…'_ He reasoned.  _'Guess it won't hurt too much if I…'_

His tail, which often seemed to have a mind of its own, was already working on the edge of the patch.  With a quick flick it was pulled free.  He winced a little, but was too startled at the now exposed wound to really notice.  It was several inches long, just as Wanda had said, a little on the jagged side, but now very neatly stitched back together.  He counted thirty stitches before he gave up.

~~~~~~

Theresa turned from where she was watching David's latest pixelated warfare as Kurt silently entered the room.  David too, glanced briefly towards the new addition to their ranks.  He did a double take, his brain not entirely believing what his eyes had just seen.  He hit the pause button, rose from his cross-legged position on the floor in front of the gaming centre and walked slowly towards the blue-furred mutant.

He slowly looked him up and down, taking in everything from the tips of his pointed ears to the spade on the tip of his tail.  His face split in a smile as his eyes returned to Kurt's face.

"Wow…" He said quietly.

Theresa's eyes widened.  Of course Kurt couldn't fathom what was so monumental about that simple syllable.

"Wow?" Kurt echoed with a raised eyebrow.  "That's a new one…" David frowned.  "Usually I get a 'dear God, vhat is that thing?'" He explained.  "Or a simple…" He threw back his head and screamed at the top of his lungs.

Pietro and Wanda were both at their doors when he finished, joining David and Theresa as they stared at him.

"But wow's good…" He beamed.  "I like wow…" Then he noticed the startled looks on their faces.  "Sorry…" He said sheepishly.

"KURT!" Wanda threw her arms around him in a relief filled hug, taking everyone, including herself, by surprise at the extremely public show of affection.  She pulled back, noticing the flabbergasted look on Kurt's face.  "Sorry…" She whispered, her cheeks colouring as she stepped away from him.

"So how ya feeling?" Pietro asked, slapping him good-heartedly on the shoulder.  Unfortunately it was his right shoulder.  Kurt let out a pained hiss and glared at the snowy-haired mutant.  "Opps…" He smiled uncomfortably.

"Better than I should…" Kurt admitted.  "Seeing as how this thing almost killed me…" He rolled his should, clenched and unclenched his fist.

"We heal fast…" David said quietly.

"We?"  Pietro asked.

"Special people…" He looked at Kurt, the most obviously 'special person' amongst them.

"You mean mutants?"  Wanda asked.  David nodded.

"You all have powers too?"  Theresa asked.

"I'm betting that's why we're here…" Pietro said.  He cocked his head as he studied the strawberry blonde.  "So…what do _YOU_ do?"

"Um…" She frowned.  "I'm not really sure how to describe it…" She admitted.  "I can do stuff with my voice…I can modulate it…smash things with it…"

"Vhat sort of things?" Kurt asked.

"Anything…" She replied.  "Glass…wood…concrete…" She smiled.  "I can even use it to fly…"

"Sounds pretty handy…" Pietro admitted.

"So what do you do?"  She asked him.

"Um…super speed." He smiled.  "I can move so fast I can run across water…or straight up the side of buildings…"

"And you two?"  She looked at Wanda and Kurt.

"I affect probability…" Wanda said.  "It's harder to explain than yours…say I need to get out of a room…I can make the hinges on the door rust…or the lock fall apart…or the wood decay…"

"Sounds a little…" Theresa searched for the right word.

"Yeah…I know…it'd my power and I don't even understand it…"

Theresa looked at Kurt.  "Do you have a power…or is it purely a physical thing?"

"I guess you could say my body is a power…" He admitted, looking down at himself.  "I am extremely agile…can stick to just about any surface…jump two to three times higher than average…the tail's like an extra arm…it can even bare my weight…"

"You've got all that?"  Theresa sounded impressed.

 "I have an infallible spatial awareness…I can sort of blend into shadows and I can see in near total darkness…" Kurt continued.  "But my primary power is teleportation…"

"He is going to _LOVE_ you…" David said.

"Who?"  Kurt frowned.

"The sinister man…" David said.  "He likes me 'cos I got more than one power…"

"Really?"  Pietro arched a brow.  "And what exactly might they be?"

"Telepathy, telekinesis and pyrokinesis…"

"Nice little arsenal…" Kurt commented.

"Pity we can't access them…" Wanda sighed.  "We'd be out of here in a second…"

"They're mutants too, Wanda." Pietro pointed out.  "Adults…more adept in their powers than we are…"

"Are you saying we should just give up?"  She turned on him.  "Let them do whatever it is they've got planned?"

"No…" He began.  "But what are we gonna do?"

"Vhat do ve know about them?"  Kurt asked, thoughtfully.  "Tell me about the ones that grabbed you…"

"Grabbed?"  Pietro questioned.  "She made me an offer…"

"Me too…" Wanda added.

"So you came villingly?"  Kurt asked them, glancing at the other two as well.  They all nodded in agreement.  "So vhat vere you offered?"

"Control…" Wanda said.  She sighed.  "My powers are out of control…they told me he could help…"

"Said he could get me into the music industry…" Theresa said.

"A better life…" David sighed.  "Not too many prospects in Israel…"

"Pretty much the same thing…" Pietro jerked a thumb at the spiky haired youngster.

"What about you?"  Theresa asked.

"I vasn't offered anything…" He shook his head.  "I vas just given some massive blood loss and a nice scar to remember the whole thing by…"  

"How's it look?"  Wanda asked curiously.

"Not too bad…" Kurt admitted.  "Vhy do you ask?"

"C'mon, Blue Boy…" Pietro smirked.  "Don'cha know chicks dig scars?"

Kurt threw him a look, then attempted to get them back on their former track.  "So vhat do ve know about our captors?  They are mutants…but vhat are their powers?"

"Never saw 'em use any."  Pietro shrugged.

"Great."  Kurt muttered.

"There are five of them…" Theresa said.  "Not counting their employer…going by the names Arclight, Harpoon, Riptide, Scalphunter and Vertigo…"

"Harpoon and Riptide I know…" Kurt all but growled.  "Energy weapons and super speed…of sorts…" He added when he noticed Pietro raised brow.  "Vhat do the others do?"

"Arclight causes shockwaves whenever she hits something…" Theresa said.

"Sounds a bit like Avalanche…" Pietro commented.

"Scalphunter can cobble together any sort of weapon he needs to counter any mutant's power…" She continued.

"A bit like Forge…" Kurt mused.  "And the other?"

"Vertigo?"  Theresa shook her head.  "I don't know…I've never actually seen her do anything…"

"Going by the name…" Kurt theorised.  "I vould say she makes you sick in some vay…"

"Makes sense…" Pietro agreed.  "So how does this help us?" He asked.  "They teach Strategic Planning 101 at the Institute or something?"

"Know thy enemy, Pietro…" Kurt said.  "If ve know vhat they can do, ve know how to counter it.  I am used to dealing with Avalanche…so Arclight shouldn't be a problem…" He then smirked at Pietro.  "Ditto vith Riptide…"

"_HEY_!"  Pietro protested.

"But the others…" He shook his head.  "I vould have to see more of them in action to know how to fight them…"

"Haven't you forgotten one tiny little problem?" Pietro countered.  "We don't have any powers!"

"You are completely reliant on you powers, aren't you?"  Kurt asked.  Pietro looked away.

"Vell, then…" Kurt sighed.  "You vill just have to follow my lead…"

~~~~~~

"Fuzzball's defiantly gonna be trouble…" Scalphunter commented as he watched the security monitor hooked into the hidden camera in their guests' main room.  "He's already figured out about the power dampers…and now he's planning a break out?"

"I expected as much…" Essex noted.  "He was trained by Xavier and Wolverine…and his Romany upbringing stresses freedom above nearly all things…"

"Romany?"  Scalphunter frowned.

"Gypsy."  Essex explained.  

"Better watch the silverware then…" He said absently.

"Don't stereotypes our guests, Scalphunter."  Essex chided.  "He's almost nauseatingly honest…except for hiding his true self…and, believe it or not, a fairly devout Catholic…"

"We should still keep a pretty close eye on him…" Scalphunter reasoned.  "Maybe even separate him from the others…"

"Don't concern yourself, Scalphunter…" Essex smiled.  "I plan to begin working with young Mister Wagner as soon as possible…"

~~~~~~

Charles Xavier sighed and pulled the Cerebro helmet from his head.  He massaged his temples as he rolled back a little from the high tech console.

"You gotta get some sleep…" Logan commented from the nearby shadows.

Charles shook his head.  "I have to find them." He said firmly.  "From even the little Mystique has imparted about this Nathaniel Essex…I fear for their lives…" He put the helmet down heavily on the console.  If its circuitry wasn't so delicate he would have hurled it in frustration.

"I'm going to have to recalibrate this thing…" He sighed.  "Figure out a way so that it can track them regardless of whether they're using their powers or not…" He lowered his head, looking utterly defeated.  "Who knows what that monster is doing to them…?" He whispered.

"I got the impression that he likes to tinker with, not out and out slaughter mutants…" Logan said thoughtfully.  He put what he hoped was a comforting hand on his shoulder.  "Kurt may play the clown more often than we'd like, but he can be serious when he needs to be.  We've trained him well, Charles…he can take care of himself."

"He was injured, Logan."  Charles pointed out.

"Only make him more dangerous…" Logan smirked.  Charles arched a brow at the comment.  "Kid don't give in easy…he's a fighter.  He's had to deal with the way he looks all his life.  Hell, even other mutants rarely accept him right off the bat.  But he never gives up…he eventually wins 'em all over…

"And he's been through so much since he hooked up with us…he probably regrets leaving home…" He chuckled mirthlessly.  "He's been outed as a mutant…nearly been killed half a dozen times…found out his birth mother id a borderline psycho…and he just keeps smiling…" He sighed deeply.  

"Elf's stronger than we'll probably ever know…"

~~~~~~

Kurt was systematically rapping his knuckles on every available wall, trying to judge their thickness, desperately searching for even the slightest weakness.  Pietro looked over from where he was watching a movie.

"Give it a rest, dude…" He sighed.  "This place is a freaking fortress."

"They'll come for us soon enough…" Wanda added glumly.

"That is vhat I am trying to avoid…" Kurt said.  He glanced at David.  The young mutant hadn't actually imparted anything he knew about their host, but there was a haunted look to his dark eyes, Kurt knew he'd been through something he felt was too horrible to discuss.

And Kurt would be damned if he'd let anyone else go through a similar experience.  He'd do everything in his power to protect them from such a fate.  He'd examined every surface he could reach from the floor, so decided to explore further up.  He touched the wall with his fingers, then gingerly, his toes.

Theresa looked up, her eyes widening as she saw him clinging to the wall like a giant blue spider.  He's told her that he could cling to just about anything, but it was something else entirely to actually see him do it.

He'd just started to move upwards when the main door slammed open.  Its impact against the wall was enough to shake Kurt lose.  He went into a roll as he hit, fortunately on his good shoulder, and was on his feet and in a fighting stance in a blink of an eye.  He bared his fangs when he saw who was standing there.

"Enough of this, Fuzzbutt."  Riptide smirked as he strolled into the room.  "You're coming with me."

"The hell I am…" Kurt snarled menacingly.

The ferocity of his voice took Pietro by surprise, as did the way the blue-furred mutant moved.  Low to the ground, tail moving in a slow arch behind him, eyes never moving from the threat in front of him.  Pietro had always considered Kurt to be the X-Man equivalent of Toad.  Quick and agile, but really little more than comic relief.  Hell…he'd always thought Evan was a bigger threat.

But this was a totally different side.  And he hadn't actually done anything…he just _LOOKED_ mean.

"Oooohhh…" Riptide teased.  "Scary, scary…don't you look mean?"  His smirk turned nasty.  "Whatcha gonna do?  Slap me with your tail?"

Kurt did lash out, but not with his tail.  His fist connected so quickly with Riptide's face nobody present had even been able to follow it.  The only way they could tell that he'd even been hit was by the blood now oozing from his nose.

"You little shit!"  He bellowed, lunging at Kurt.  The blue-furred mutant simply sidestepped and brought a knee up into his stomach.

Both combatants were suddenly lurching as the floor rippled beneath them.  Arclight stood in the doorway, smirking at the bloody-faced Riptide.  "Will you stop dancing with that kid and get him out here?"  She demanded.

Kurt's eyes narrowed.  "The power dampener does not extend beyond the door…" He said in a hissed whisper to the nearby Wanda.  He leapt onto Riptide's head, smushing his already damaged face into the floor.  He then launched himself at Arclight, the pair crashing against the far wall in a tangle of limbs.

"C'mon!"  He yelled at the others as he quickly disentangled himself.  They didn't have to be told twice.

"We don't know where we are."  Wanda pointed out as they ran along the corridor.

"A small oversight."  Kurt countered.  "Ve only need find a telephone so I can call the Institute…we have a home free link…"

"Yeah…" Pietro groaned, straining not to overtake them all.  "Like they're not gonna come after us…"

"With the combination of your speed, Theresa's flight, Wanda's reality warping, David's telekinesis and my teleportation, how are they going to catch us?"

"They got us once…" Wanda pointed out.

"Only because they caught us unavares…" Kurt countered.  "Ve know vhat they are now…"

"Is that a fact?"  A new voice entered the hurried conversation.  The group came to a halt as if they'd suddenly encountered an invisible wall.  They tried to move, but it was as if their bodies would no longer obey them.

"I must say, Nightcrawler…" The deep, obviously male voice continued.  "I _AM_ impressed…it took you, what, thirty minutes to escape?  Pity it was all for naught."  He chuckled.  "And good show with Riptide.  It's not like the sadistic little sod didn't have it coming…I think you broke his nose…"

"Who are you?"  Kurt demanded.  He caught sight of David with his peripheral vision.  The boy was looking extremely edgy, that alone was enough for Kurt to identify the speaker.  "Vhat do you vant vith us?"

"I want to help you…"

"Then let us go!"  Kurt wasn't sure when he'd been elected group spokesperson, but no one else seemed too eager to address their disembodied captor.

"Let you go?"  He repeated.  "You all came here willingly…"

"Yeah…right…" Pietro spat.

"You all accepted my offer…"

"I vas made no offer."  Kurt snarled.  "Unless you consider an electrified harpoon through the shoulder an _OFFER_."

"No…" He admitted.  "That was not what I had to offer you…" He sighed, he even sounded regretful.  "Riptide does tend to be a little overzealous…"

"You have nothing I vant."  Kurt growled.

"Really?" The smile was evident in his voice.  "You haven't even heard my offer…"

"Save your breath." Kurt hissed.  "I have control of my powers…I care nothing for fame or fortune…"

"I'm well aware of that."  He was informed.  "What I have for you is nothing so materialistic…what I have for you is information…"

"Information?"  Kurt frowned.

"What I offer you is your heritage.  I can tell you precisely who you are and where you came from…the identity of your mother…"

"I already _KNOW_ that!" Kurt snarled, his feelings evident in his voice.

"Perhaps…but what about your father?"

The anger drained from Kurt's body.  Was it possible that this man truly knew what he claimed?  Could he answer the questions that had plagued him all his life?

"Believe me, dude…" Pietro hissed at him.  "You may be better off not knowing…"

"Believe _ME_…" The voice intoned.  "You won't be disappointed…"

"Vhy should ve believe you?"  Kurt asked, his voice soft now.  "You claim you vant to help us…but how?  And vhy?"

"This world is a dangerous place...far more so for mutants.  People will want to hurt you, kill you, just because you were born different…I merely want to make sure that doesn't happen."

Five pairs of eyes widened as their would-be benefactor finally decided to show himself.  If they'd been capable of moving they would have taken an involuntary step backwards.  He was immense…well over seven feet tall.  His skin was chalky white, his eyes blood red.  There was a red diamond emblazed on his forehead, right between his eyes.  

"After all…" He smiled at them, though there was no warmth in his expression.  "I am one of you…"


	5. Chapter Five

**_I do not own these characters.  I do not pretend to own these characters.  They are, essentially, the property of Marvel Comics.  This is purely a work of fiction designed for the entertainment of others. No monetary gain will be made…_**

Generation Gap **Chapter Five**

Wanda sat in the corner of the small white room hugging her knees tightly to her chest.  She'd been there ever since their botched escape attempt.  The chalk-faced man hadn't released them from whatever grip he had on them until well after his underlings had collected them and shoved them into five identical, featureless rooms.

She couldn't see the others, or even hear them, though she was pretty sure she'd heard Kurt snarl a couple of times, but it could have just been her imagination.  But the room, the silence, the solitude…it all took her back to the long years at the asylum.  She had escaped, or rather, been freed, such a short time ago, but she had come to revel in her freedom.  To be returned to such a hopeless situation was more than she could bear.

She began to weep silently into her chest.

~~~~~~

Essex turned his attention away from Magneto's daughter and focused his eyes on the next monitor. 

Pietro was sprawled against one wall, apparently asleep.  He had pounded on the walls for a while, but grew quickly tired of his futile efforts to escape this new prison.  He had sat down, obviously becoming very bored, very quickly.  Sleep seemed the only escape available to him.

Theresa was much like Wanda, huddled in a corner, though she was not weeping.  She just stared off into space with dead eyes, not actually looking at anything.  But then, there was nothing to see.

David appeared to be meditating, though it was difficult to tell.  He could merely have fallen asleep leaning against the wall in a lotus-like position.  Whatever the reality, all four looked as if they would be easily broken and bent to his will.  

Sensory deprivation…you had to love it!

He frowned and cursed under his breath as he moved on to the fifth and final monitor.  Kurt was yet to sit down.  For over three hours he'd been pacing back and forth, tail flicking in a highly agitated manner behind him, looking for all the world like a caged animal.  His eyes were narrowed, his body tense.

"And I thought Pietro was going to be the difficult one…" He sighed.  He watched the blue-furred boy with mild fascination, absently noting the way he moved.  There was power behind that pacing, a strength perhaps even he was unaware of.  And an obvious enduring stamina, he didn't seem to be tiring at all.  He watched the way he pivoted on his unusually shaped ankles, the way the tail swung in perfect unison.

Essex glanced back at the other monitors with an arched brow and a tight smile.  His eyes narrowed as they returned to the still pacing Kurt.

"You may be trouble…" He admitted to the screen.  "But you will be my masterpiece."

~~~~~~

Pietro had never run so hard or for so long in his life.  After having been denied access to his powers for so long, to suddenly have them back was such an incredibly liberating experience.  

True, he was locked in a modified wind tunnel, and that creepy Essex guy had plastered him with all kinds of sensor pads to collect data for reasons Pietro didn't even want to think about.  He was probably watching too, behind that mirrored wall.  He'd seen enough movies and TV shows to know that was what captors did when testing their captives.

But none of that mattered to him.  His feet where a blur and he had the wind in his face.  Everything else was an afterthought.

"Subject truly revels in his powers…" Essex intoned into the microphone that hung near his mouth.  "Brainwave activity would indicate that his thought processes are also elevated way above the norm…" He added as he checked one of the many computer screens.  "Heart rate and respiratory function remain constant.  Musculature system of the thighs and calves developed to take the impact and strain of highly accelerated motor functions…"

He sat down at a computer and typed in a command.  "Probability of Omega status…negligible…" He sighed.  "Pity…" He stroked his chin for a moment.  "I wonder if his accelerated metabolism has an effect on his aging process?  Will he burn himself out?"

He glanced back at Pietro, still clocking in at just below sonic speed, and not even breaking a sweat…

~~~~~~

Kurt had finally sat down, but his eyes never strayed from the hairline seam he'd found in the wall that indicated where the door was.  He stared at it intently, unflinchingly, all but daring them to enter.

_'I have been hanging around Logan _WAAYY_ too much!'_ He thought to himself, a grim smile curling his lips as he thought of how his surly mentor might think of how he was handling himself right now.  The smile quickly faded as he thought of his friends.  He wondered if he'd ever see them again…

His ears pricked as he heard something just outside his cell.  He didn't exactly have enhanced hearing, but his ears, just by way of their design, were more sensitive than the norm.  He immediately leapt up, taking a position above where he surmised the door was.

The door opened below him, but nobody entered.

"We're on to you, fuzzball…" He heard Riptide's slightly nasal voice inform him from outside.  "You may as well come down and face the music."

"Right…" Kurt growled.  "I can hang on up here all day!"

He frowned when he heard the electronic beeps of someone punching in a code on a keypad, then he shrieked in pain and alarm as bolts of electricity arced around him.  He released the wall, more by reflex than choice, hissing when he hit the floor.  Scalphunter and Harpoon where on him in an instant, each taking a firm grip on an arm, so Kurt merely lashed out with his three remaining limbs, straining against their grip and flashing his fangs for all he was worth.

"For Christ's sake!" Scalphunter grumbled as the spaded tail-tip slapped him painfully across the face.  "Will you guys help!?"

Arclight managed to grab one leg while Riptide warily went for the other.  Kurt let out a sound somewhere between a snarl and a laugh when he saw the white bandage taped to his nose.  He backed off as Kurt focused his efforts on him.

"Vhat's the matter, Riptide?" He smirked.  "Afraid I might break something else?"

"Why you little _FREAK_!" Riptide screeched and leapt for the young mutant.  They all went down in a tangled heap.  Kurt, prepared for it, had disentangled himself from the mess of flailing limbs and broke for the door before the others had even begun to regain themselves.

Vertigo screamed at the sight of Kurt's gleaming fangs, but had enough presence of mind to extend her powers against him.  Kurt baulked, putting a hand to his mouth as he was suddenly overcome with the need to be violently ill.  Scalphunter slammed into him from behind, knocking him to the floor.  He managed to get his arms around the boy's torso, pinning both arms to his sides.  The tail wrapped itself tightly around his thigh.  Scalphunter shrieked as it contracted painfully, but refused to let go of his prize.  Harpoon and Arclight managed to get hold of his legs, wincing as his long toes dug into their flesh.

"Let's just get him into the boss before he breaks lose again!"  Scalphunter yelled to be heard over Kurt's growls and snarls.

"Jeez…" Riptide arched a brow.  "He was so easy to catch…I never would have thought the little guy had so much fight in him…" He gingerly touched his nose.

"He was easy to catch because he was worried about the girl…" Harpoon growled as the tail whipped at him again.  Riptide reached in and grabbed the threatening limb, holding it tight, smirking at the pained hiss he got as he inadvertently tugged on it.  It only made him tug all the harder.  He laughed until a set of fangs flashed dangerously close to his face.

They staggered out into the hallway with the writhing bundle of blue fur, and somehow managed to get him into the designated examining room, though the tail managed to slip free a couple of times and knock a few heads together.  They slammed him, hard, against a cold, stainless steel pallet that stood at a forty-five degree angle from the floor.  They fought to get his ankles and wrists secured, then the tail, buckling the thick leather straps so tightly that they almost cut off the circulation.  Three more straps where fastened around his shoulders, his waist and just above his knees.  Unable to move, Kurt did all he could think of, he began to snarl at them in very thick and angry German.

"My goodness…such language!" Essex' very cultured voice chided.  "And from such a good, Catholic boy…"

"Let me lose and I vill show you just how _GOOD_ I am!" Kurt growled at him through tightly clenched teeth.

"Yes…I'm sure."  He turned his attention to his employees, noting with an arched brow the bruises and abrasions they had obtained in bringing the young X-Man to him.  "Take Mr Maximoff back to the others…" He ordered turning his gaze back to the immobilised Kurt.  "I do believe I'm going to have my hands full here…"

He placed a series of sensor pads on various parts of Kurt's body, careful to avoid the flashing fangs as he did so, to monitor his body as he had with Pietro.  He then busied himself out of Kurt's line of sight, but he watched as best he could.  "You have a lot of anger in you, Mr Wagner…" Essex commented matter-of-factly.  "I can use that…"

Kurt's golden eyes widened when he returned, a very large syringe in his hand.  He shied away as much as the bonds would let him, which wasn't very far at all.

"Don't be afraid…" Essex soothed.  "This is a serum of my own devising.  It's designed to target and dormant factors in your mutant DNA."  Now the young mutant looked confused as well as terrified.  "You and your friends are still young…it's possible that you haven't fully come into your powers yet…" He explained.  "This…" He held up the syringe.  "…will activate any powers that haven't made themselves known…if you have any left to activate…"

He placed it on a small stainless steel tray beside the pallet Kurt was strapped to and gently brushed his long blue-black hair away from his neck.  He then dabbed a spot with an alcohol swab.  Kurt winched as the needle bit into his jugular, he could feel the serum seep into his bloodstream.  He remembered what had happened to Jean and Evan when their powers had evolved.  Jean had almost gone insane, and Evan had felt the need to hide himself from the world in general.  And then there was the incident with Rogue…

And their powers had all increased naturally.

Maybe he'd be lucky…maybe there'd be nothing left in him to activate…

'And maybe monkeys will fly out of my butt…' 

"Now…" Essex said as he laid the syringe aside.  "You're the first to be administered with the serum…so I hope you don't mind if I videotape the proceedings…"

"Like I have a choice…" Kurt growled.  He blinked rapidly a few times as his vision began to blur.

"…for posterity."  He continued, ignoring Kurt's comment.  "I'd also like to know how it feels…"

"Urk…" Kurt managed as his eyes widened and his throat closed and his body tensed.

"Hmmmm…" Essex mused.  "Interesting…"

~~~~~~

Pietro let out an involuntary whimper as he was shoved back into the quintet's luxurious housing.  He was sure he had felt his powers blink out as soon as he crossed the threshold.  He flopped down on the couch rather despondently, then glanced around at the others.

"Where's the fuzzball?"  He asked, noting the missing mutant.

"They haven't brought him back yet…" Theresa said softly.

"They put you through the wringer too?"  Wanda asked.

"Yeah…" Pietro sighed.  "Had me running flat out for about two hours…"

"He's gathering whatever information he can on us…so he can use it against us…" Wanda snarled.

"How do we know his intentions are bad?"  Pietro countered.  "It's not like he's actually really mistreated us…"

A scream tore through the castle, so sudden, so loud, it took everyone by surprise.

"Kurt?"  Wanda whispered.

"What a wuss!"  Pietro rolled his eyes.  "Crying like a little baby…"

Wanda's head was lowered when she spoke.  "I've spent most of my life in a place where screams are the norm.  You get to learn how to differentiate them…that wasn't fear, Pietro…" There were tears in here eyes when she raised her head.

"That was agony…"

~~~~~~

Kurt left a noticeable dent in the stainless steel beneath him as he threw back his head with a resounding crack.  He didn't notice the new pain it brought.  When your veins are on fire, when your bones feel like they're trying to burst through your skin and run around on their own, when your fingers and toes are tearing trenches into steel…you just don't notice a little bang to the head.

Essex just watched with a curiously arched brow as Kurt convulsed.  The boy was gasping for breath now, he could barely get the air he needed to remain conscious, let alone scream again.  His eyes were squeezed shut, his hands so tightly fisted now that he was drawing blood from his own palms.  Essex frowned, more than a little concerned.  He was many things, but he was not a sadist, he didn't enjoy seeing the boy's pain.  He moved to his stock of pharmaceuticals and began searching for something to give the youth, to lessen the pain, or plunge him into a welcome oblivion until the transition was over.

He found something amongst his bottles and vials that would not have an adverse reaction to the serum already burning through the boy's veins.  He frowned at the monitors, none of them were looking good.  Everything, heart rate, respiratory function, blood pressure, all were quickly approaching dangerous levels.  He flicked the switch on the defibrillator, just in case the youth went into cardiac arrest.

He approached, the new syringe held at the ready.  He stopped when Kurt's eyes snapped open, flinching away reflexively from the pair of tiny blazing suns they had become.  Kurt strained against the bonds, both metal and leather creaking from the exertion.  His mouth opened and he screamed again, a low, rolling howl more akin to a jungle cat than a human being.  His wrists twisted, tearing leather from steel.  Essex backed off for a moment as he began pawing at the strap that held his shoulders.  He growled, a true, bestial growl, as he turned his still glowing eyes on his tormentor.  He lunged forward and rammed the needle into the boy's thigh even as fingers savagely clawed his back.

Kurt's head began to loll as the medication took effect.  His eyes dimmed, appearing to return to their normal selves as his chin touched his chest.

Essex stared at the now slumbering mutant for a few moments, reaching around to touch the damage he'd inflicted on his back.  He glanced at the blood on his fingertips, then wiped it off on his lab coat.  He pushed the boy's head back, and pried open one eye.  The glow was still evident, though nowhere near as brilliant as before.  The pupil was almost impossible to see.  He released the lids and they slid shut again.

He stepped back, still holding the head up.  His mouth hung open, the fangs bright amid the blue.  There seemed to be a darkening of the fur around his eyes and across his forehead, but it could have just been a trick of the light.  

He let the head fall forward and lifted a hand for closer examination.  Each of the three thick fingers now ended in an obvious claw, claws of which he had already been on the receiving end.  He glanced downwards and noticed the toes were similarly equipped. 

"Hmmm…" He smiled.  "_VERY_ interesting…"

~~~~~~

The remaining foursome hadn't spoken a word since the second scream had torn through the corridors.  Even its echo was nothing more than a memory now.

"God…" Pietro finally said quietly.  "That wasn't even human…"

"What the hell has he done to him?"  Wanda wondered aloud.

The door hissed open and Scalphunter and Harpoon entered, dragging Kurt between them.  He looked awful, pale, even through his fur.  His hands were bandaged, and there was blood on his lip, probably where he'd bitten himself.  They continued on towards his designated bedroom while Arclight watched them like a hawk from the doorway.

She noticed the stunned looks on their faces.  "Be thankful it wasn't you."  She shrugged at them.

~~~~~~

Hank pushed his hair back from his eyes as he waited for his computer to log on. Though the search for the missing mutants continued, and continued to produce no results, life had to go on.  It had been weeks since he'd checked his e-mails, everyone must think he was dead or something.

He opened Outlook Express and waited for his new e-mails to come in.  Sighing, he glanced down the list of received mail in his inbox that he hadn't got around to dealing with.  His eyes widened when he noticed one from _Xessen@sciencescene.net_.  

"Oh my God…" He quickly opened it and hit the print button.

~~~~~~

"_PROFESSOR_!"  Hank bellowed as he bolted down the stairs.

"What is it, Hank?"  Charles sighed as the large blue-furred mutant bounced into his study.  He'd been at Cerebro almost non-stop since the abduction, nearly three weeks ago.  He frowned when he sensed the aura of guilt around his newest faculty member.

"A possible lead…" He admitted, surrendering the paper he was brandishing.

"An e-mail?"  Charles eyed it suspiciously.

"Check the name…" Hank suggested.  "Xessen…"

"N. Essex backwards…" Charles nodded.  

"I _KNEW_ that name was familiar!" Hank growled.

The professor scanned the e-mail, something about offering funding for Hank to continue his research in genetic mutations.

"You didn't tell him anything, did you?"  He asked fearfully.

"Of course not!"  Hank quickly defended himself.  "But he was very insistent…God! What if he hacked my computer?  It's linked to Cerebro!  He could have gotten all our information!  All our files!  We've got every little detail on how the powers of every mutant we know work…Kurt…Wanda…Pietro…they're all in there!"

"And far more about them than just how they're powers work…" Charles frowned.

"My God…" He said, almost inaudibly.  "We set them up to fall…"


	6. Chapter Six

**_I do not own these characters.  I do not pretend to own these characters.  They are, essentially, the property of Marvel Comics.  This is purely a work of fiction designed for the entertainment of others. No monetary gain will be made…_**

Generation Gap 

**Chapter Six**

Wanda watched with a concerned frown from the doorway of Kurt's room.  His sleep was fitful.  He tossed, he turned, he hissed, he growled.  The tail coiled tightly around anything it came into contact with.  The bedside lamp that glowed softly by his side seem to cast strange shadows across his pained face.

Pietro glanced up from the magazine he'd been idly leafing through.  His eyebrow arched, the corner of his mouth curling upwards as if it was somehow attached.  Wanda was hugging herself tightly with one arm, chewing absently on the thumbnail of the other hand. His soft chuckle drew her attention.  She frowned at the look on his face, the usual mischievous smirk that invariably marked his features.

"What?" She demanded when the smirk deepened. 

"You _LIKE_ him!" He teased.

Wanda's jaw dropped for a moment, but she recovered quickly.  "I'm just concerned about him…" She countered.  "There's nothing more than that…"

"Oh puh-lease…" Pietro rolled his eyes.  "You're looking at him the same way Toad looks at you!"

She turned from him, angrily, and stalked off into the kitchen.  She stopped suddenly in the middle of the tiled floor, frowning to herself.  Was he right?  Did she really have feelings for the blue-furred mutant?  She cast her eyes back towards his door…

"Is there something wrong with that?"  She asked him haughtily as she turned on her brother.

Pietro considered her question for a moment.  "Nah…" He admitted.  "You could do a lot worse than blue boy…at least he'd never intentionally hurt you…and he certainly has better hygiene than Toad…" He pulled a face to emphasise the point.

"I've never been interested in Todd that way…" She said softly.

"I know…" Pietro replied, suddenly feeling bad for using Wanda to keep Todd in line.

She walked back to the open doorway, and quietly slipped into the shadows within.  She glanced down at Kurt in the tiny pool of light.  He seemed to be resting more comfortably now, though his breathing was rapid and shallow.  She reached out and brushed an inky lock from his face.

"He's awfully warm…" She commented when she sensed Pietro's presence behind her.  "But I can't tell if he's feverish or it's because of the fur…"

"Could be both…" Pietro said softly as he studied Kurt's pinched face.  He was obviously in some serious pain.

"Will you two just let the boy get some rest?"  A voice came from without.  They turned to find Theresa framed in the doorway.  "He'll be okay…" She assured them.  "David was…"

"Yeah…David's _FINE_…" Pietro grumbled.  "Doesn't say a word for three months…spends all his free time beating the pixels out of everything that moves in computer simulated universes…"

"You've met him…" Theresa sighed.  "You know what kind of effect he has on people…" 

"You know…" Wanda mused with sudden realisation.  "He still hasn't told us his name…"

"What did the kid call him?"  Pietro asked.

"The sinister man…" Theresa informed him.

"The sinister man?"  Pietro questioned.  "Sounds like a really bad comicbook character…" He took a dramatic stance and pointed upwards.  "Look out!  It's Sinister Man!"

"Then what should we call him?"  Wanda queried.

"Whadda we know about him?"  Pietro folded his arms across his chest.  "Apart from the fact that he's white as a sheet and has that oh-I'm-ever-so-posh British accent?"

"So you want to call him Sir Sinister?"  Theresa asked.

"Earl of Sinister?"  Wanda suggested.

"Darth Sinister…Dark Lord of the Sith…" Pietro intoned dramatically, dropping his voice several octaves.

The trio chuckled for the first time in a good long while.

~~~~~~

Essex smiled at the light-hearted interaction between his young guests, they still had no idea that the main room of their accommodation was bugged and monitored.  He was gallant enough to keep their bedrooms and bathrooms surveillance free.  He wouldn't totally deny them their privacy.  Especially now that Magneto's daughter was apparently developing an interest in Mystique's son.  The potential possibilities of that little scenario were certainly intriguing.  If nothing else, he could use it to keep the troublesome blue mutant under control…

"Sinister…" He mused.  "I can live with that…"

~~~~~~

The trio had come to the consensus that someone should remain awake so that Kurt would have some one to reassure him when he awoke.  Pietro had drawn what he had dubbed the graveyard shift…midnight until whenever one of the girls woke up.  He yawned loudly and glanced at the clock.  It was a little after four.  He leaned back against the sofa cushions and closed his eyes.

He wasn't sure if he'd actually dropped off or not, but a soft sniff near his ear had him jumping out of his skin.

"Jeez!"  He exclaimed as he looked up into Kurt's pale golden eyes.  "Don't do that!"  How could the guy move so quietly?  He frowned.  Kurt didn't seem to be really focusing on him, and he was swaying a little on his bandaged feet.  Pietro had noticed the bindings on his hands, but he hadn't noticed his feet had been similarly wrapped.  There were dark shadows under his eyes and a large dark mark on his neck.

"Man…" He said.  "You look like hell…"

"Thank you…" Kurt said absently.  Pietro was sure he hadn't really heard what he'd said.  Kurt then swivelled unsteadily and half staggered, half stumbled into the kitchen.  He managed to pull open the refrigerator door, but almost fell over as he swung with it.

Pietro felt uncharacteristically sympathetic for him.  He pried Kurt's fingers off the refrigerator's door handle, and took his arm.  "C'mon, man…" he said as he steered the blue-furred mutant towards the sofa.  "Sit down before you fall down…I'll fix you something…"

"Thank you…" He said again, but this time it was genuine.

"Something bland…" Pietro arched a brow as he took in Kurt's pale features.

"Damn…" He said.  "I vas so looking forward to a nice chicken vindaloo…"

Pietro snorted.  "If you can make bad jokes you can't be too bad…" He loaded the toaster and put on some water to boil.

"Kurt?"  Wanda's groggy voice came from her doorway.  Pietro arched a brow at her sudden presence. Either she hadn't been sleeping with worrying about the X-Man…or she had some kind of Kurt radar that had alerted her to his presence…

_'Oh yeah…'_ Pietro rolled his eyes._  'She's got it _BAD_!'_

"Are you okay?"  She asked as she sat down beside him.  "How do you feel?"

"Probably as bad as I look…"

She frowned as she noticed the mark on his neck.  It looked like a hickey.  "What is that…?"  She brushed back his hair.  He winced as she touched it.  "Look's like a bruise…"

"Probably from the needle…" Kurt said.

"Needle?"

"He injected me vith something…" Kurt said.  "Said it vould activate any dormant powers…"

"Has it done anything?"  Pietro asked as he entered with a tray laden with toast, cheese, apple pieces, and three mugs of tea.

"I don't know…" Kurt admitted.  "Hurt like all hell though…like my veins vere on fire…"

"That's why you screamed…" Wanda surmised.

"I screamed?"  Kurt frowned.

"Yeah…" Pietro smirked.  "At least we think it was you…either that or Sinister's got a cheetah holed up in here somewhere…"

"Sinister?"

"Gotta call him something." Pietro shrugged.

"And David called him the sinister man…" Wanda explained.

Kurt nodded.  "Yes…I remember…" He reached for a piece of toast and noticed his hand.  "Vhy are my hands bandaged?"  He asked.

"Your feet are too…" Pietro informed him.

"You don't know?"  Wanda frowned.  Kurt shook his head.

"They hurt?"  Pietro asked over a sip of tea.

Kurt flexed his hands and wriggled his toes.  "No…"

"Then let's check 'em out…" Pietro snagged his wrist and began unwinding the snowy bindings.  "_JESUS_!" Pietro jumped back when he revealed the long, sharp claws.  A shadow crossed Kurt's gentle features and he quickly utilised the claws to tear off the remaining bandages.  He stared at his clawed hands for a few moments, dragging his clawed toes through the carpet with a noticeable scratching sound.  His eyes narrowed and seemed to take on an eerie glow…

"Kurt?"  Wanda whispered.  His hand slashed out, he skewered a piece of apple with the claw on his index finger.  He nibbled on it thoughtfully, eyes closed.  He then threw his head back, his face pulled into an anguished frown.  Now he was even more demonic…

He opened his eyes, staring up into the ceiling mouldings.  Then he frowned, suspiciously.   He moved so quickly even Pietro was caught by surprise.  He scuttled up the wall, unhindered by his new talons.  He pulled away a small piece of steel mesh, unnoticed in the shadows in the corner of the room, and reefed a miniature video camera from a small niche in the wall.

"Bastard's been vatching us…" He hissed.

He twisted the camera in his hands, tearing plastic and metal apart.  He dropped gracefully to the floor, then bounded into his room.  He was a very guarded person, and loathed the idea that there was a similar camera located in what he considered his private chambers.  He had checked the bathroom…but not the bedroom…

 He may have been overcompensating for the claws, or was simply not up to the exertion in his current condition.  Whatever the reason, he crashed into the wall, knocking over the bedside table and shattering the lamp.

"Gott in Himmel!"  They heard him gasp.

Pietro and Wanda exchanged a quick glance, then leapt to his aid.  He was sitting against the wall, visibly shaking, all but hyperventilating, staring at his hands again.  It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the dark, a second to realise he wasn't staring _AT_ his hands…he was staring _THROUGH_ his hands!  They could see the pattern of the curtain fabric right through his head!  His entire body was transparent!

"Holy shit…" Pietro whispered. 

Wanda reached out tentatively and took a firm grip on his wrist.  He looked up at her with brightly shining eyes full of fear.

"I am a ghost…" he whispered.  "I am fading avay…"

"You're solid, Kurt…" she assured him.  She twisted his hand and searched for his pulse. It was, unsurprisingly, more than a little rapid.  "You've got a pulse…you're not a ghost…"

On an impulse, Pietro flicked on the light.  Kurt winced, turning away from the sudden flood of illumination.  He heard Wanda's relieved sigh, and dared to look down at himself.  He was back to normal, apart from the claws…

"What's goin' on?"  Theresa demanded, tying her robe around her.  "Yer makin' enough noise to wake the dead!"  David glanced from one face to another.

Wanda had managed to get Kurt on his feet and was leading him back out into the large room.

"Vhat has happened to me?"  He looked at the others with wide, startled eyes.

"I'm guessing whatever Sinister pumped you full of has had an effect."  Pietro reasoned.

"I have been evolved…" Kurt whispered.  He glanced at the dark doorway of his bedroom, then at his hand.  He walked over and slowly reached into the shadows.  The further into the darkness he went, the more transparent he became.

"That is so cool…" David beamed.  "It's like you can turn invisible!"

He pulled his hand out again.  "Only in shadows it vould seem…" He said as he flexed the now fully visible limb.

"Go on, Man." Pietro urged, gesturing towards the darkness.  "See how invisible you can get!"

Kurt stepped tentatively into the shadows, slowly disappearing as he moved further and further into the darkness.  "This is so veird…" He commented softly.  "I can't even see myself!"  The others crowded the door, each searching the darkness, but none could see him.

"You're not hiding in the bathroom, are you?"  Pietro asked the shadows.

"No…"

They turned as one to the sound of his voice.  They could make out the soft of glow of his golden eyes but nothing else.  

"Yer like the Cheshire Cat…" Theresa commented.  "'Cept we can only see yer eyes…" He smiled as she said it, what little light there was in the room reflecting of his fangs.

"You know…" Kurt's eyes narrowed mischievously.  "This could _REALLY_ come in handy…"

~~~~~~

Pietro paced back and forth, watching the door.  Wanda had been gone for a long time, and though he and Theresa had come through their time in Sinister's presence more or less unscathed, Kurt and David hadn't been so lucky.  He had every reason to be worried about his sister, he thought, she'd spent so much of her life in isolation…

'Heck…blue boy's got more confidence…' He glanced at Theresa, bopping her head to the tinny sound of her personal stereo, and David, once again taking out his frustrations on pixelated enemies.  He couldn't help but wonder which one she would resemble when she returned. 

Theresa glanced up at the constantly pacing mutant.  She turned off her music and pulled off the headphones.  "Wearing a hole in the carpet isn't going to help her…" 

"I know…" He sighed.  "But…for someone so powerful…so frightening…she's so vulnerable…what if he does to her what he did to…"

"Me?"  Kurt finished for him when Pietro chocked on his own words.  Pietro just looked at him, almost guiltily.  "I don't think he vill…"

"What makes you say that?" Theresa asked.

"He told me I vas the first to be administered vith his concoction…I doubt he vill use it on anyone else until…" He paused taking a deep breath as if he was trying to regain his composure.  "Until…he tests me for any possible side effects…"

Pietro looked at him, wide-eyed.  "Shit…I never even thought of that…"

"I feel fine…" Kurt admitted softly.  "But I could very vell be…dying…or vorse…"

"What could be worse than dying?"  Theresa frowned.

Kurt sighed, looking down at his clawed hands where they rested in his lap.  "All my life…I have had to contend with being different.  My parents shut me avay from the vorld…their greatest fear vas that someone vould do me harm because of the vay I look…you have no idea how hard it vas for the Professor to convince them to let me go to school in America…

"But their fear is not my fear…" He sighed.  "My fear is that I vould become even more like a demon…that I vould sprout horns or vings or something."  He held up his hands, brandishing the claws.  "And now it looks like that might actually be coming true…" He closed his eyes.  "I am becoming a monster…"

"Hey…" Pietro smiled.  "That's nothing a little personal grooming won't fix."  He flopped down on the couch beside him.  "Look…Kurt…I know I've given you a hard time in the past…but you gotta be the most decent guy I know.  You're no monster.  I doubt you're even capable of becoming one…" He chuckled softly.  "I guess you take after your dad…"

He was about to make some kind of witty retort when they heard a kafuffle at the door

"Get your freaking hands off me you freaking asshole!"

"Sounds like your sveet, vulnerable sister has returned…" Kurt beamed.  The sound of scuffling and muffled voices reached Kurt's ears, the smile melted to a frown.  He leapt over the couch, creeping towards the door.  Pietro watched with concern at the way the blue-furred mutant was moving.  Soundlessly, low to the ground, like he was stalking some invisible prey.  

The door opened and both Wanda and Riptide took a step back at the sight that greeted them.  Kurt's eyes were glowing brightly, his lips curled back in a snarl that revealed his fangs, a deep, rumbling growl escaped his throat.

"What's the matter with you?"  Scalphunter demanded of his baulking team-mate.  Then he noticed the snarling bundle of blue fur blocking their path.  "Holy shit!"

Riptide shoved Wanda forward as Kurt coiled to spring and quickly slammed the door.  He caught her, the glow immediately fading from his eyes, and manoeuvred her to the sofa.  "Are you okay?"  He asked in his usual soft tone of voice, then he noticed the straightjacket-like contraption they had her trussed up in.  "I am sure you vill feel better vhen you are out of this thing…"

Pietro and Theresa exchanged a worried glance.  They still had no idea of the extent of the changes in the elfin mutant, and there were times when he just plain scared them.  Wanda, however, didn't seem to notice.  Or simply didn't care.  As soon as her arms were free she wrapped them around him and burrowed into his chest.  Kurt was more than a little taken aback, but Pietro just smirked at him.

"It vill be okay, Vanda…" He said.  "The Professor vill find us…"

"Yeah, right…" Pietro sneered.  "It's been over a month!"

"I did not say he vould find us easily…" Kurt admitted.  "We cannot access our powers here…Cerebro detects mutants by picking up on their mutant abilities…but I am sure he and Herr Beast vill think of something…"

"And then of course…there's our parents…" Pietro added without enthusiasm.

"Magneto and Mystique?" Kurt questioned, an unfamiliar tone of sarcasm in his voice.  "Yes…I am so sure they are leaving no stone unturned in their search."

"Your Mom was always pretty good to us…" Pietro told him.  "Sure…she was a little short with us…and abandoned us for extended periods…"

"She excels at abandoning children…" Kurt said softly.  "She has been as much mother to me as Magneto has been father to you…"

"But she does care about you, Kurt."  Wanda looked up at him.

"She has an unusual vay of showing it…" Kurt all but growled.  "Sets her team against me…blows up my home…destroys my possessions…tries to kill my friends…"

"Do you remember when we first met?" Wanda asked, trying to break him out of his destructive train of thought.  "At the mall?"

"Yes…" Kurt looked at her a little suspiciously.  It wasn't something he remembered fondly.

"Before we left the house…she pulled my aside and said to me…'there are two amongst them…two I want you to be gentle with…cause no lasting harm to…'"

"Two?"  Pietro queried.  He knew of Kurt's relationship to his former leader…but who else would Mystique be concerned about?

"'Remove them from harm altogether if you're able' she said…" Wanda continued, if she'd even heard her brother she gave no sign.  "She had granted me my freedom, so I was pretty much willing to do whatever she asked.  So I asked her how I would know the two she wanted me to…go easy on…" She smiled sheepishly.  "'A boy and a girl…' she told me.  'The girl you will know from the white streak in her hair…and the boy…' she paused then, and I could see something in her face…sadness I think.  Her voice was real quiet when she continued.  'The boy…looks like me…'" Kurt was quiet as he absorbed the information.

"Why would she want you to go easy on Rogue?"  Pietro asked.  "She was pretty pissed when she defected."

"She is my sister…" Kurt said softly.

"Your _SISTER_!?" Pietro echoed.  "And I though I had it bad."  Wanda threw him a scathing look.

"I don't see the resemblance…" Wanda admitted.

"She is adopted…" Kurt told them.  "Ve only found out recently…Rogue did not take it vell.  I like to think it vas for being daughter to Mystique rather than being sister to me…"

"I'm sure it was…" Theresa said.  She really didn't know who or what they were talking about, the trio had far more history than she was aware of.  But she knew she wouldn't be upset if she found she was related to someone like Kurt…

"It's gotta be hard for her…" Wanda said softly.  "Having both her kids siding against her…"

"What about you two?"  Pietro turned to Theresa and David.  "You got people who'd be looking for you?"

"My Da might be…if he knows I'm missing…" Theresa said.  "I go to boarding school…and he's often incommunicado with his work…me cousin Tom might be looking though…"

"My mother probably doesn't even know I'm gone…" David said softly, turning from his paused game.  "She's some big wig in the government…I'm not sure exactly what she does…she's hardly ever there…"

"Is there some prerequisite that says second generation mutants have gotta have a messed up family life?"  Pietro asked no one in particular.

"Ve vill get out of this."  Kurt said with unwavering confidence.

"How can you be so sure?"  Wanda asked, peering up from the relative comfort she'd found in his arms.

"You have to have faith, Vanda…" He smiled at her.  "Sometimes…it is the only thing ve've got."

~~~~~~

"Man…" Scalphunter said as he returned to his employer's presence.  "What did you do to that freaky little kid?"

"Hmmm?" Essex looked up from the data he'd gathered from Wanda's session.

"He was ready to tear my throat out!"  Riptide informed him.

Essex considered him for a moment.  "Well…that's hardly surprising."  He intoned, returning to his readouts.  "I don't think he much cares for you."

"And he was growling…" Riptide continued.  "Like some kinda animal…"

"And I'd swear his eyes were glowing."  Scalphunter added.

"Really?"  Essex put down his paperwork and gave them his full attention.  "Sounds like my serum was effective.  It's been impossible to learn anything since he discovered the surveillance equipment…I must conduct a proper study of him…"

"There is no way you're gonna get him to go anywhere he don't wanna go."  Riptide said.

"Come now, Riptide…" Essex smiled.  "He was intent on attacking us _BEFORE_ I administered my serum…"

"And now he's got claws, glowing eyes and who knows what else…" Riptide countered.

"Well…we're just going to have to be creative…"


	7. Chapter 7

**_I do not own these characters.  I do not pretend to own these characters.  They are, essentially, the property of Marvel Comics.  This is purely a work of fiction designed for the entertainment of others. No monetary gain will be made…_**

Generation Gap 

**Chapter Seven**

The story was that Kurt had been called home for a family emergency.  But rumours of the 'truth' abounded.  Some were freakishly accurate, that some scientific laboratory had abducted him for experimentation.  But most believed that his student visa had been revoked when he was revealed as a mutant and he'd simply been deported.  Fortunately neither Wanda nor Pietro were currently enrolled at Bayville so no excuses needed to be made for them.

"This sucks big time!" Kitty grumbled as she and Rogue walked the corridors, trying to act like nothing was amiss.  "We should be at the mansion, helping the Professor and Mr McCoy in the search…"

"It's been over a month…" Rogue began.

"My point exactly!" Kitty broke in.  "Who knows what those creeps have done to him…"

"_HIM_?"  Rogue arched a brow.  "Don'tcha mean _THEM_?"

"Fine…_THEM_…" She sighed.  She wasn't really that concerned about Wanda and Pietro.  She didn't really know Wanda…and she hated Pietro.  But as she thought about it, she began to feel a little guilty.  _'There but for the grace of God…'_ She thought.

"What I really hate is the lyin'…" Rogue sighed.

"I thought you'd be used to keeping secrets by now…" Kitty said.

"Well…it's really only one person I hate lyin' to…" Rogue corrected herself.  "She should know the truth…"

"What are we gonna say?"  Kitty countered.  "Your boyfriend really hasn't gone home to Germany 'cos his Mom's like totally sick…he's actually been abducted by a psychotic madman who likes to experiment on mutants?"

They froze when the heard the squeak behind them.  The squeak of someone breathing in really quickly after being told something that totally shatters their world.

"Oh…shit…" They said in unison, turning slowly towards the sound.

Amanda stood stock still, eyes wide, mouth agape.  They could see the colour draining from her face.  Rogue moved swiftly behind her in case she fainted.  She was looking at something far beyond Kitty's shoulder, trying desperately to catch her breath.

"Look…Amanda…I know we like totally lied to you…but we were just trying to…"

"I guess this explains why he hasn't e-mailed me…" She said quietly, inanely.  "I though he was just busy…taking care of his Mom…but I guess psychotic madmen don't give their subjects access to the Internet…"

Rogue and Kitty exchanged a glance.

"Amanda…" Rogue began.

"He can take care of himself, right?"  She grabbed the Goth's shirtfront.  "You guys train for this sort of thing all the time, right?"

"Yeah…" Rogue tried to smile.  "He can hold his own…"

"I'm sure he's totally giving the creep major trouble."  Kitty agreed.

"And with Wanda and Pietro to back him up…" Rogue added.  "I'm sure he's fine…"

~~~~~~

Kurt crouched in the middle of the brightly lit room, head bowed, eyes closed, mouth set in a thin, angry line.  They had got him here by threatening the others.  Riptide had a knife at Theresa's throat before they could even blink an eye.  Scalphunter had devised something to scramble Wanda's brains, and was threatening in no uncertain terms on using it.  Harpoon had a weapon trained on Pietro.  And Vertigo had David in a quivering heap.  Arclight had then told him no harm would come to them if he behaved, if he allowed her to blindfold him, to bind his hands.

What else could he do?

But he'd be damned if he'd jump through any hoops for them!

It would seem that their…benefactor…was working on the sensory deprivation thing again.  They'd slapped a few sensors on him to gather information about him, and then they'd left.  He'd managed to free himself from his bonds, and pull off the blindfold.

He wasn't sure just how long he'd been left alone in the large, featureless room.  But this time he had access to his powers…all of them.  Unfortunately, he couldn't teleport unless he could see or knew where he was teleporting too.  He didn't doubt that the chalk-faced man Pietro had dubbed Sinister was aware of that.  He couldn't escape…

At least not physically…

He sat down on the floor and focused his mind the way the Professor had taught him.  Kurt might not be a telepath but he did have some mental ability, Xavier and McCoy's tests had discovered that.  It was what gave him his infallible spatial awareness, sort of a sixth sense.  He couldn't read minds or project his psychic essence, but it gave him the foothold he needed on the astral plane.  He just hoped the Professor was there to pull him in the rest of the way…

~~~~~~

Ororo sighed as Charles wheeled into the Cerebro room, again.  Everyday he went in, searching for any trace of three young mutants that had been so well hidden they were impossible to find.  He was wearing himself out.  But he refused to give up on them.  How could he?

He lifted the Cerebro helmet and placed it wearily on his head.  He held little hope of actually finding anything, he was just hoping against hope that somehow Essex would slip up, that somehow he'd punch through and find what he was looking for…

He focused his thoughts on Europe…first on England, and then on the continent itself.  They had tracked them initially to Canada, thanks to Kitty's computer expertise, but she'd been unable to crack the security at the Montreal airport.  The knowledge he'd gained from Mystique, that Essex was English by birth, had led him to believe that he would more likely be set up on local ground, which had led him to Europe.

He located many mutants, some he even knew, in the British Isles, but not the trio he was searching for.  He moved onto Spain, Portugal, then upwards to Scandinavia.  His thoughts moved downwards through Central Europe…

And he felt a familiar buzz at the base of his skull…

He focused on it.  It was fuzzy, indistinct, but he knew it.  At least he thought he knew it.  It was both familiar and alien…welcoming and frightening…

_'Professor…?'_  The mental voice was little more than a whisper, the slightest brush against his mind.

He was so surprised, so relieved, he answered out loud.

"Kurt?"

~~~~~~

Harpoon frowned as he studied the monitor that showed the blue-furred mutant.  "What is he doing?"  He wondered with a frown.

"Looks like he's meditating…" Scalphunter theorised.

"Then why is he smiling?"

~~~~~~

'Kurt…I can barely sense you…where are you…are you all right?' 

_'I am not sure…can you pinpoint me or something?'_

_'No…your thoughts are too indistinct…'_

_'Wunderbar…'_

_'But are you…and the others…all right?'_

_'More or less…'_

~~~~~~

"Lota brainwave activity here…" Harpoon said as he checked the readings.

"Could be dreaming…" Scalphunter suggested.

"Or telepathically communicating with someone…" Harpoon surmised uneasily.  "Isn't his mentor some kind of major psychic?"  They glanced back at the monitor where the boy appeared to be in deep concentration.

"Boss ain't gonna like this…" Harpoon said as they bolted for the door.

~~~~~~

'What can you see?  It might help to determine your location…' 

_'He hasn't let us see outside…he's well aware of what I can do…or at least what I _COULD_ do…'_

Xavier frowned.  As interesting as it was to note that Kurt didn't appear to have an accent when he spoke telepathically, what he had said was intriguing…

_'What do you mean what you _COULD_ do?'_

'Well…he…' 

Xavier felt a jolt of psychic pain, and could no longer sense Kurt's thoughts.

"NO!"

~~~~~~

Kurt glared up at Scalphunter, refusing to rub his stinging cheek.

"Engaging in a little telepathic tête-à-tête, hmmm?"

~~~~~~

"Charles!?"  Ororo called as she ran into the room.  "Are you all right?"

"Better than Kurt it would seem…" He said softly.

"You found him?"  Ororo gasped.

"He found me…" Charles smiled proudly.  "But they must have figured out what he was up to…"

"Were you able to determine where he was?"

"Not precisely…" Charles admitted.  "Somewhere in Central Europe."  He sighed, removing the Cerebro helmet and massaging him temples.  "But at least we know they're alive…"

~~~~~~

Kurt rose slowly from his lotus position, raising his head to look at Scalphunter with an uncharacteristically nasty smirk of his face.

"You really aren't very bright, are you?" He said.

"What are you talking about?"  Scalphunter demanded.  He didn't like the boy's mocking tone of voice.

"You don't leave the door open vhen you are trying to pen a line of sight teleporter."

Scalphunter and Harpoon suddenly found themselves chocking on smoke, a sulphuric stench bringing tears to their eyes.  Recovering quickly like the professional mercenaries they were, they spun quickly towards the door, only to find the boy leaning against it, a smug expression on his blue furry face.

"Toodles…" He smiled as he took a step backwards and slapped the door release, locking the pair inside.

He'd been blindfolded when they'd brought him from their cell…no matter how plush it was it was still a cell…so he decided not to risk teleporting back.  He knew the many twists and turns they'd taken, but he didn't know what he'd find in the corridors and rooms they'd passed through.

He moved quickly and quietly, keeping to the shadows.  Scalphunter and Harpoon might have been taken care of, but Arclight, Vertigo and Riptide were still around somewhere.  And it wouldn't take long for them to figure out he was freely roaming the corridors.

He had to be careful…

~~~~~~

"What do you mean _HE_ found _YOU_?"  Scott asked incredulously.  "Kurt's no psyche…"

"No…" Charles admitted.  "But he has a certain amount of psychonic ability…"

"Whoa…" Kitty stopped him.  "Are you saying Kurt's gonna become a telepath?"

"No…" Hank shook his head.  "The potential is in his genetic structure…but he has no way of accessing it…"

"Think of it like a DVD player with DTS capability…" Forge said, trying to put it in a way they might more easily understand.  "The wiring's there, but he hasn't got the amplifier to actually make any use of it…"

"It is highly probable that his progeny will develop it further…" Hank continued.  "But Kurt himself will not develop telepathy."

"At least not naturally…" Rogue said softly.  She was suddenly aware that all eyes were on her.  "Well…this guy tinkers with mutants, right?  He could tinker enough to activate this latent potential, couldn't he?"

"Possibly…" Hank admitted.

"I don't think he has…" Charles countered.  "His mental connection with me wasn't particularly strong…I could barely sense his thoughts…but at least we know they're alive and relatively unharmed…" Charles sighed.  "I sensed a certain amount of fear and hopelessness in him…which is hardly surprising…"

"So…we know where they are…" Scott interrupted.  "We can be suited up and ready to go in…"

"We don't have a precise location, Scott…" Charles shook his head sadly.  "Just somewhere in Central Europe…"

"We're talking Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary…" Forge began counting off on his fingers. "Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Moldavia…where do we start?"

"We have to do _SOMETHING_!" Scott protested in frustration.

"We will, Scott…" Charles assured him.  "We will…"

~~~~~~

Kurt leapt to the ceiling the moment he felt the floor begin to ripple beneath him.  Arclight swore under her breath.

"Infernal jack rabbit…" She growled.  "Vertigo!  Bring him down!"

Kurt felt a wave of nausea wash over him as the peroxide blonde worked her magic on him.  As he clung to the ceiling, fighting the churning of his own stomach, he remembered one of the last things Kitty had said to him…

"Don't even think about it.  You know it makes me sick to my stomach!" 

He smirked as he dropped to the floor, startling both women.  Vertigo screamed as he leapt at her, grabbing her tightly by the shoulders.

"You can dish it out…" He said to her.  "But can you take it?"  She looked at him with real fear in her eyes as he flew into a quick succession of teleports, each one taking a greater and greater toll on Vertigo's body.  He stopped only when she was a dead weight in his arms.  He threw Arclight a truly wicked look as he let her drop to the floor.

"What the hell did you do to her!?"  Arclight demanded.

"Should you not be more concerned about vhat I am going to do to you?"  He asked as he moved slowly towards her.

"Why should I be afraid of a skinny little kid?"  She asked as she began to back away form him.

"If you are not afraid, vhy are you backing avay?"

"Well…I…" She glanced to where Vertigo lay motionless on the floor.  Her attention snapped back when she heard an unfamiliar sound, she'd never heard the sound of imploding air before…

Kurt swung down, feet first, from his new position on the ceiling, slamming both feet into her skull and knocking her cold.

He landed silently and studied her for a moment.  "Now…what was it that Harpoon said to me…?" He mused aloud.  "'Never let your guard down on the battlefield…'" He quoted.  "'It can have disastrous results…'"

He heard a startled gasp and looked up to see Scalphunter, Harpoon and, lurking behind them, Riptide.  The little weasel must have let them out.  The expression on the Native American's face gave him reason to pause.  He looked unusually upset at seeing the fallen Arclight…

_'Are they involved…?'_ He wondered.

"Kid…" He growled.  "You are _SO_ **DEAD**!"  He charged Kurt, not even bothering to make advantage of his powers.  He seemed intent on tearing the young mutant apart with his bare hands.

'Guess that answers that question…' Kurt thought as he leap-frogged over the enraged mutant.  Scalphunter spun quickly, managing to snag Kurt's tail. 

"Take him out quickly…" He heard Riptide hiss in a low whisper. Even as he struggled against Scalphunter, weaving and ducking to avoid his blows, he managed a quick glance to confirm that Harpoon had reached for one of his namesakes.  Kurt felt the buzz of electricity in the air as he charged it.  He knew Harpoon was taking aim at him.  He'd felt its sting before, and had no intention of repeating the experience.

A split second before the harpoon's impact he vaulted over Scalphunter's shoulder.  The startled mutant's eyes widened as the weapon sliced into his chest. Delivering its charge into his system, Scalphunter shrieked as the electricity arched through the metal components he wore strapped to his body.

"Man…" Riptide whispered.  "When did the kid get so fast?"

"Doesn't matter…" Harpoon shook his head.  "If we don't take him out the boss'll have our guts for garters…"

"If he doesn't do it first…" Riptide gestured towards Kurt with a slight incline of his head.

Kurt crouched, ready for action, in the middle of the corridor, eyes glowing brightly, teeth bared, tail flicking back and forth.

"It's still two against one." Harpoon pointed out.  "And we've taken him down before…"

The two steeled themselves.

Kurt just smiled…

~~~~~~

Essex watched, extremely impressed, as Kurt finished off Harpoon as quickly and easily as he had Arclight.  The boy faced down Riptide, who already feared the young mutant.  Riptide began to spin, hurling shuriken and barbs in every direction.  Essex frowned.  They had been ordered not to inflict any permanent damage.

"I'll have to have a stern word with him later…" He growled to himself.

Riptide stopped, a maniacally confident grin on his face.  It quickly faded when he realised there was no sign of the blue-furred mutant.  "What in the…" His voice sounded tinny over the speaker.  "Where the hell did he…" He chocked off as something long and sinuous wrapped tightly around his neck.

Essex arched a brow as Kurt followed by wrapping his legs about Riptide's chest.  He held on fast to the ceiling in a way only he could.  With the tail around his neck and the legs crushing the air from his lungs, Riptide quickly found himself struggling to breath.  It was only a matter of moments before Riptide joined his comrades on the floor.  Kurt dropped to the ground and took off towards his friends on all fours.  He shook his head, equally impressed and appalled.

One skinny little boy had just taken out five of the world's greatest mercenaries, single-handedly, without even breaking a sweat.

 He sighed and rose majestically to his feet.

"You want something done…you have to do it yourself…"

~~~~~~

Kurt studied the keypad by the door for a moment.  He had no idea what to key in to open it. He shrugged, stepped back, and kicked the door in.  His explosive arrival took the others completely by surprise.

"Let's go…" He said to them.

"Uh…you do remember how successful our last escape was?"  Pietro reminded.

"You vould rather stay here?"  Kurt countered.

"Good point…" Pietro admitted.

Before they could make a move a blast of energy hurled Kurt against the wall.  He winched and held his side, his shirt and most of his fur had been burnt away by it.  He glared at his assailant with a mixture of pain and anger.

"You know…" Essex said as he approached the fallen mutant.  "If you had just made a break for it…you'd probably be free right now…" He clamped a white hand around Kurt's blue-furred throat.  "But you had to play the Good Samaritan…" He lifted him from the floor.  "You had to come back for the others…"

"Leave him alone you son of a bitch!"

The outburst startled all present, but none more so than Pietro when he realised it had been torn from his throat.  Before he even knew what he was doing, he charged the chalk-skinned mutant, punching him as hard as he could, right in the face.  He smiled with smug satisfaction at the resounding crack it made, at the way his head snapped back.  Kurt slipped from his grasp, Wanda and Theresa quickly dragging the gagging mutant from harm's way.

Pietro was preparing to hit him again when he was backhanded across the face.  He hit the wall, hard, and slid to the floor.

"Don't try to play the hero, boy…" The white face leered at him.  "It's not in your nature."

He took in the five youngsters before him with a look of contempt.

"I have tried to be good to you…" He sighed.  He gestured at their accommodation.  "I gave you everything you could want.  All I wanted to do was help you reach your full potential.  But I have been met with defiance, disgust…" He looked pointedly at Kurt.  "And outright hostility!"  He looked from one face to the other.   "If that's the way you want it…I can play it your way…"

He then turned his attention on Pietro.

"You have dubbed me Sinister…" He smiled wickedly.  "Well, my young friends…you're about to find out just how sinister I can be!"


	8. Chapter Eight

**_I do not own these characters.  I do not pretend to own these characters.  They are, essentially, the property of Marvel Comics.  This is purely a work of fiction designed for the entertainment of others. No monetary gain will be made…_**

Generation Gap Chapter Eight 

Riptide watched from the seclusion of the monitor room as Essex and the freaky kid appeared to be locked in an intense staring match.  At least it would seem that was what they were up to except they both had their eyes shut.  The boy's hands, strapped to the arms of the chair that the rest of him was secured to, were fisted, his fanged teeth were clenched.  Essex was likewise tensed.

Finally, Essex threw his arms up in obvious frustration and stormed from the room.  The boy smirked at his retreating back, then exhaled with equally obvious exhaustion, and slumped down in his seat.

"That boy is quickly becoming more trouble than he's worth!"  Essex grumbled as he slammed into the room.

"Just what were you trying to do in there?"  Riptide asked, baulking as fiery red eyes narrowed on him.  "If you don't mind me asking…" He added quietly.

"The others seem to be drawing their strength from him…" Essex explained.  "If I can break him…the others will fall like a house of cards…" He leaned over the monitor, studying the blue-furred youngster.  "But he is proving far more formidable than I could have imagined…Xavier has taught him well…I can't put a dent in his psychic shields!"  He smiled slyly to himself.

"But…as they say…there's more than one way to skin a cat…"

~~~~~~

Charles sighed deeply as he wheeled into his study.  It had been weeks since his brief telepathic communiqué with Kurt, and his failure to locate the missing mutants after so long was beginning to weigh heavy on his heart.  He reached out and absently touched the button on the telephone answering machine.  He had turned the thing on so he wouldn't be interrupted while he continued his fruitless search with Cerebro.

"Charles?"  Ororo appeared in the doorway, carrying a tray of food.  "I thought I heard you."  She smiled as he beckoned her in.

"I still can't find them." His shoulders slumped.  "Even I am beginning to lose confidence…" He jabbed the fast-forward on the answering machine to move to the next message…he wasn't interested in taking a holiday, no matter how much he might need it.  "Infernal salespeople…" He muttered, stabbing it again to get past the one offering wholesale wine.

"Everyone has to make a living…" Ororo shrugged as he fast-forwarded over the young man divulging the benefits of the long distance carrier that was currently giving him employment.

"I suppose…it's just…"

"Oh!  Great!"  Pietro's disembodied voice filled the room.  "I break out…find a bloody phone…and there's no one bloody home to answer the bloody thing!  Just perfect!"

The telepath and the weather witch stared at each other in dumbfounded silence.

~~~~~~

"Okay…fine…I'll just tell this bloody machine as much as I can…we're in a castle outside this city…ancient looking place…barely a high rise in sight…it's got trams and a river running through it…there's a church…I think it's a church…on my right…the river's in front of me…I can't even begin to pronounce the place names around here…I think the street's name is Podolská vodarna…though that could be the church…I _DID_ see a statue on top of a yellow pole…looked like some kinda landmark…and a zoo…"

"Hey!"  Another voice could be heard.

"There he is!"  

"_SHIT_!" Pietro's voice cut back in, then the line went dead.

Xavier turned to face the assembled X-Men and Brotherhood.  He'd mentally summoned them all as soon as he'd authenticated the voiceprint on the answering machine.

"Thoughts?"  He asked them.

"It's a little convenient don't you think?"  Mystique asked with an arched brow.  "We can't find hide nor hair of them for over two months…and suddenly one of them just phones home?"

"But we authenticated…" Kitty began.

"I'm not faulting your machines, girl…" She countered.  "All I'm saying is that we should proceed with caution."

"Could you pick up anythin'?"  Todd asked Xavier.  "You know, whether or not Pietro was on the level or somethin'?"

"I can't make a mental reading on a taped voice, Mr Tolensky."  Xavier informed him.  "But he certainly sounded distressed…"

"Yeah…" Lance cut in.  "But Pietro's only got two tones of voice…smug and scared…"

"And why did he call here?"  Mystique's eyes narrowed.  "Why not the Brotherhood house…or his darling daddy?"

"He wouldn't have had the funds for a Trans-Atlantic phone call.  The Institute has a toll free number…all the students know it…" Xavier told her. 

"In case you've forgotten…he's _NOT_ one of your students."  She glared at him.

"No…but one of the missing children _IS_."  He returned.  "Kurt must have told him in case he managed to escape…"

"If it _WAS_ an escape…" Mystique mumbled.

"Are you suggesting he's leading us into some kind of trap?"  Scott asked.

"Well…Pietro being the upstanding young man that he is…I'm so sure we can take him at his word…" She smirked as she turned slowly towards him.

"She's got a point."  Logan said gruffly.  "He could've been coerced…he could've cut a deal…"

"So whatta we do?" Fred asked.  "We goin' after 'em or what?"

"We still have to find out where they are."  Jean pointed out.

"I can run that name he mentioned…" Kitty began, studying the small pad in her hand where she'd been scribbling down what useful information she could gather from Pietro's message.  "…Podolská vodarna…through a search engine…it should bring something up…"

"If you can spell it right…" Todd added.

"There's no need."  Mystique dismissed the suggestion.  "I know where he means…I know the landmark he mentioned…the statue on the yellow column…that along with the trams, the river and the overall look of the city…and the fact that we already know they're in Central Europe…it can only be one place…

"Prague…"

"You mean the place they filmed that vampire movie with Wesley Snipes?" Todd questioned.

"All right…let's go!"  Scott surged to his feet, totally ignoring the greenish mutant.

"For crying out loud, Summers…." Lance rolled his eyes.  "I though you were supposed to be some great leader…we can't just charge off…we need a plan or something…"

"What's to plan?"  Rogue asked.  "We go in there…kick butt…and get our friends back…"

"Do you even know what we're up against?"  Lance sighed.

"Five hostile mutants…" Scott began.

"Eight."  Mystique corrected.

"Eight?"  Scott frowned at her.

"It's been nearly ten weeks…" She said.  "Do you honestly think he hasn't turned them?"

"You mean…we're gonna have to fight them?"  Kitty asked in a tiny voice.

"It _IS_ a possibility…" Charles admitted.  "And then there's Essex himself…" He glanced at Mystique.  "Is he a mutant?"

"I don't know…" She admitted.  "But he's obviously well organised…and highly intelligent…he managed to snatch three of our own from right under our noses…he's a force to be reckoned with."

"And if he's hacked our system like we feared he knows how to deal with each and every one of us."  Hank put in.

"If we bring in every mutant we know…Evan…Forge…Alex…we'll number more than twenty…" Scott theorised.

"Are you suggesting we take the younger students into danger?"  Charles gasped.

"We don't know for sure what we're up against, so we need all the help we can get."  Scott pointed out.  "And some of those kids can pack a real punch…"

"True…" Charles admitted.

"But what if we need someone to come in and get _US_ out?"  Mystique asked.  "We know next to nothing about what we're heading into…I say we leave them out of it…and Poindexter here…" She jerked a thumb at Hank.  "In case we need a plan B…"

"Fine…" Logan rumbled.  "But we better get a move on while the trail's still fresh."

~~~~~~

Kitty phoned Amanda to tell her they had more or less found Kurt, and was surprised to find the dark-skinned girl arrive scant moments after the call.  It had taken all of Xavier's powers of persuasion to keep her off the X-Jet.

"We'll bring him back to you." Kitty assured her as the others began to board the sleek black aircraft.  

"You better." Amanda replied.  "But why is that blue woman looking at me like that?"

Kitty glanced over to where Mystique and most of the Brotherhood stood beside the Velocity.  Her arms were folded across her chest as she glared at the young human.

"Well…um…you see…" Kitty began sheepishly.

"Who is that?"  Mystique demanded.

"Beats the hell outta me."  Lance shrugged.

"That's Amanda…" Todd began.  "She's kinda, sorta, Blue Boy's…" He looked up at Mystique who was now giving him her undivided attention, and baulked.

"Kinda, sorta, _BLUE BOY'S_…_WHAT_?"  She demanded.

"Uh…chemistry partner…?" Todd suggested, thinking that it wasn't entirely off the mark.

Mystique arched a brow as Todd began to back away with a rather sick look on his face.  "Are you telling me that Kurt…my _SON_…has a girlfriend?"

"Well…"

"A _HUMAN_ girlfriend?"

"Uh…"

"I'm going to have to have a word with him about that…"

~~~~~~

"It really is a beautiful city…" Jean commented as she gazed out over the river.  Beside her, Logan was sniffing the air.  It hadn't taken them long to get from the States to the Czech Republic, as long as it had taken to suit up and leave appropriate instructions for Hank and the other students, and convince the gung-ho Amanda to remain behind with them.  "Find anything?"

"Got a scent…but it's faint…" His eyes narrowed as if that would somehow intensify what he could smell.  "You?"

"There was a chase here…" She nodded.  "The people around here were freaked about it…a man with spears and a guy with smaller sharp objects…chased a skinny, pale-skinned boy that moved faster than they could see…certainly sounds like Pietro…"

"Yeah…" Logan agreed.  "And the two that nabbed the Elf…" He sniffed again.  "This way…"

People parted to let them through.  Logan always had a 'don't mess with me' air about him.  Jean just smiled brightly and followed in his wake.  He walked over to the car the pair had rented and pulled open the door, falling into the seat.  Jean got in almost daintily beside him.  As they drove out of the city, Logan pulled out a communicator.

"Our little speed demon was here all right…." He confirmed for those on the other end.  "We're looking for the castle he mentioned now."

"Right…" Scott's voice crackled over the airwaves.  "We'll remain in cloak until we here from you again."

"Logan!"  Jean cried out a while later.  "There!"  She pointed to a large, stately, and mostly crumbling structure.

"I'd call it a dump more than a castle…" He said as he took in the state of the structure.  "What makes you think they're in there?"

"According to my telepathy…" She said.  "The lights are on but nobody's home.  I'm not picking up any thoughts…just like the plane they used to get out of Bayville…"

"And there's a lot of highly scented plant life around to mask any familiar scents…" Logan added.  "Beast did say this guy knew us…" He stopped the car and stepped out into the murky twilight, sniffing the air again.  "Got a faint scent of Pietro…headin' right for the place…" He arched a brow at the redhead.

"What say we call in the troops?"

~~~~~~

"So whatta we do?" Toad asked as they surveyed the large, silent building.  "Go up to the front door and knock?"  He mimicked the action in the air.  "Pardon us…but do you have any spare mutants lying about…we seem to have misplaced a few…"

"I say we go in blasting!"  Cyclops said.  Jean frowned.  Scott was usually more levelheaded than this.  He really felt responsible for Kurt's predicament, and was desperate to make amends.

"I could make us a back door."  Avalanche suggested.

"So could I…" Blob added.

"Spread out and search…" Mystique said.  "A castle this old is bound to have servant entrances…hopefully long forgotten ones…"

"Wait a minute…" Logan said suddenly.  "Got the speed freak's scent over this way…" He moved away to the rear of the building…away from the main entrance.  "Probably where he got out…" He pushed aside some large bushes to reveal a rusty metal gate, barely hanging on its hinges.

"Looks like we won't have to make a back door after all…" Avalanche said.

The group moved cautiously into the shadows within.  A short tunnel opened up into a large, domed chamber with many arched doorways lined around its walls.  A small walkway ran along the top of the doorways to give access to an upper row of similar arches.

"Great…" Shadowcat mumbled.  "Needle in a haystack…"

"We split up to search?"  Toad asked.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea…" Logan shook his head.

"Top 'o the mornin' to ya!"  A bright brogue spoke from behind, despite the time of day.  They spun to find a small, teenaged girl with long, strawberry curls framing her pretty face.  She was dressed in a simple, skin-tight black body suit with accents of golden body armour.  A spiked, cape-like garment hung from her shoulders and arms.  A large, vibrant red brand, in the shape of a capital S had been applied to the left hand side of her face, starting at her eyebrow and moving down over her eye and across the curve of her cheek.  Nobody present had set eyes on the girl before…

"I'm Siryn."  She introduced herself.  Before anyone could react, she drew a deep breath, opened her mouth and let out a long, high-pitched scream.  It hit them with the force of a brick wall, sending them tumbling through various archways, effectively separating them.  Only Jean and Charles remained in the large room.  She winked at them through her tattoo, then flew off down one of the adjoining corridors.

"Strange…" Charles mused from his position on the floor.  The girl's sonic scream had knocked his wheelchair over, depositing him rather unceremoniously in the dirt.  "I know someone with a power identical to that…but he is both older and male…could that be his daughter?  It would certainly fit with Hank's theory of Essex' interest in second-generation mutants.  Still…this must wait until later…"

Jean shook her head in an effort to stop the ringing caused by the girl's wail.  She looked to the Professor who was struggling to upright his wheelchair.  Jean thrust out her hand to help but found she couldn't move it.  She concentrated her efforts and managed to move it to a forty-five degree angle, only to have it slammed back down again.

"What is going on?"  She wondered aloud.  She was suddenly thrown against the wall, watching in stunned silence as the chair righted itself and Charles levitated into the air, then dropped into it.  His eyes flicked to his redheaded student.  He knew as well as she did that she was not responsible.

A young boy stepped from one of the archways, his hand out in front of him in a pose eerily reminiscent of Jean's.  He dropped it, and she fell to the floor.  He smirked at Charles, not even paying her the slightest bit of attention.  The same brand marked his dusty-skinned face.  He was dressed in a similar skin-tight black body suit, this time accented with body armour in three shades of blue.  His dark hair seemed to defy gravity, sticky straight up from his head, reminding Jean of that arrogant prince from that animie show Kurt and Evan seemed so fond of…

He stepped towards Xavier, still totally ignoring Jean, even as she moved to stand by him, in case she was needed to protect him.

"Hello…Daddy!"  The boy smiled.  Jean's head snapped towards the Professor, expecting to see her shock mirrored there.  But Xavier remained as calm as ever, his dark eyes locked with the boy's.

"Hello David."  He replied.

~~~~~~

"You okay?"  Rogue heard Blob say, though his voice seemed very far away.

"Yeah…" She said finally, pulling herself upright.  "What in hell hit us?"

"Dunno…" He shrugged.  "Surprised it actually managed to move me…"

"You and me both…" She took his offered hand and he pulled her to her feet.  "Now, where the hell are the others?"

"Beats me…" Blob said.  "That girl kinda separated us all…"

"Wonderful…" Rogue sighed.

"Ah…don't feel so bad…" A familiar voice spoke to them. "I'll keep ya company."

"Quicksilver…" Rogue hissed.

The pale mutant gasped in mock surprise.  "After all this time…they still remember…" He too was dressed in black, with accents of silver armour.  He wore a short leather jacket, edged in silver in such a way to resemble lightening bolts.  The same scarlet brand was emblazed on his face.

"You set us up!"  Blob bellowed.  "_AGAIN_!" 

"Oooohhhh…you're smarter than you look, Blob."  He smirked.  "So what are ya gonna do about it?"

"I dunno about him…" Rogue said, tearing off her gloves.  "But Ah'm gonna tear ya a new…"

"Tsk tsk…" He admonished.   "Such language…" She lunged at him, only to find herself grasping at air.  "The problem with your power, Rogue, is you gotta make physical contact to do anything…" She collided with Blob, accidentally knocking the big mutant out with her abilities.  "And using them on your back-up like that…not a good idea…you just halved the odds for me!"

She spun to face him.

"Shall we dance?"

~~~~~~

Storm moved slowly through the dark corridor, desperately trying to keep control of her fear.  There were times she hated her claustrophobia, not that she ever liked it, but right now she knew she had to keep her wits about her.

She generated a small ball of lightening in order to see where she was going.  It suddenly arched and stabbed at her.  She had no choice but to extinguish it.  She knew there was only one mutant capable of doing such a thing.

"Wanda?"  She questioned the darkness.  "We've come to take you home…"

"Where were you two months ago?"  The sullen girl asked as she moved towards her out of the darkness of the twisting corridor.  "Where were you when he was torturing us?  Starving us?  Branding us?"  Storm's expression softened to concern when she saw the same livid mark on Wanda's face. 

"Where were you when we needed you!?"  She screamed before she brought the ceiling down on her head.

~~~~~~

"Gross…" Shadowcat huffed.  "Why did I have to get stuck with you?"

"Hey!"  Toad snarled.  "You're not exactly my idea of the ideal date either you know."

"At least I bathe on a regular basis!"  She shot back.

"I bathe regular…" He informed her.  "First Saturday of every month."

"Like…euew!"

They were so involved in their petty argument neither of them noticed the golden slits in the shadows above their heads.

"Let's, like, go find the others."  Shadowcat commanded.

"Fine by me!"  Toad snorted.

They froze when they heard the low-throated rumble, like the growl of a jungle cat.

"What the heck woz that?"  Toad asked as he and Shadowcat backed up towards the wall.

"Please let it be Wolverine…" Shadowcat whispered.

"That weren't no wolverine…" Toad shook his head.  "That was a leopard or a cheetah or something…something with big, gnarly teeth…and wicked sharp claws…something that can see perfectly in the dark…"

"You need to shut up now!"  Shadowcat snapped.

"Shutting…" She felt a breeze flash past her face, then something hit the ground with a wet thump.

"Toad?"  She queried.  "Are you, like, okay?"  She whimpered when she got no answer.  She reached out into the darkness, trying to find something, anything, that would tell her where her smelly companion was.  Her fingers found something firm, at first she thought it was the wall.  Then she realised it was warm…and breathing…

She glanced upwards and was transfixed by a pair of golden, cat-like eyes.  She screamed as their owner growled in her face.

~~~~~~

Avalanche and Cyclops jogged down a non-descript corridor.

"Where are we going?"  Avalanche asked.

"Nowhere in particular…" Cyclops replied.

"Then why are you in such a rush to get there?"

"We've got to find the others."  Cyclops turned to face him.  "This is a classic strategy.  Divide and conquer…they split us up so they can pick us off…one by one…"

"You're a real cheery guy to hang with, you know that?"

"Hmph…" Cyclops snorted.  

"Y'know…it's weird how often we end up working together…" Avalanche said absently.

"Maybe it's fate's way of telling us we shouldn't be fighting each other…" Cyclops replied.

"Maybe…"

"You know…there's plenty of room at the Institute for you guys…" Avalanche looked at him sceptically.  "I know I was a jerk the last time you came by…but I think we've both grown since then…"

"You'd take us in?" Avalanche frowned.  "After all we've done?"

"Everyone deserves a second chance…" Cyclops shrugged.

Shadowcat's scream rent the air.

"_KITTY_!"  They said in unison, breaking into a sprint as they headed towards the sound of her cry.

~~~~~~

Quicksilver covered his mouth as he pretended to yawn.  "Y'know…this is getting' old!"  He was easily keeping one step ahead of Rogue.  The Goth was trying to bring down a wall, a section of ceiling, anything, on the mug speedster, but he was just too fast.  She'd half buried the prone Blob, and was beginning to tire as Blob's stolen powers began to desert her.

"Ready to give up?"  Quicksilver asked.

"In yer dreams…" She panted.

"Suit yourself."  He sighed.  He began to circle her, going faster and faster, producing a whirlwind that lifted her up, pushing her towards the ceiling.  She was just beginning to feel dizzy when he suddenly stopped, letting her drop like a stone to the floor.  She hit her head, and moved no more.

"Hmmm…" He mused.  "Shoulda tried that one before…"

~~~~~~

"You still care about her, don't you?"  Cyclops said as he and Avalanche sped along the corridor.

"Yeah…I guess…" He admitted.  "But she deserves better…"

"Isn't that her decision?"

"Whoa!"  Avalanche gasped as he screeched to a halt.  Both Shadowcat and Toad lay on the floor before them.  There were two deep gashes torn into the side of Toad's head, his sandy hair was matted with blood.  Avalanche immediately dropped to Shadowcat's side, sighing with relief when he couldn't find a mark on her.

"What could have done this?"  He wondered, raising his head to look at Cyclops who had been searching the corridor when they attained there was no major damage to their comrades.  Avalanche could just make out something snaking towards him.

"Look out!"  He warned.

Cyclops' head snapped towards him, startled by the sudden loudness of his voice.  Unfortunately, what Avalanche had spied took that moment to tear the visor from Cyclops' head.  With a gasp he squeezed his eyes shut, but not before Avalanche was hit with a full blast from both eyes.

"Avalanche!?"  Cyclops called as he groped about in the darkness.  He couldn't open his eyes out of fear of causing further damage.  "_LANCE_!?"  

He felt something wrap around his chest, pinning his arms to his sides, pushing against his ribs, driving the air from his lungs.  If he'd been able to open his eyes, he'd have seen the world around him begin to swim.  But as it was, he just slumped to the floor when he found he no longer had enough air to remain conscious…

~~~~~~

"They weren't so though."  A voice crowed.

"There's still two unaccounted for, Legion." The brogue replied.

"Two of the most dangerous…" Pietro's voice informed them.

Xavier opened his eyes, startled to be looking into the concerned brown eyes of Scott Summers.  "Are you all right, Professor?"  He asked.

"Yes…" He assured him.  "Young David packs quite a wallop."

"So, it would seem, do the others…" Ororo added, dabbing at a gash in her forehead with her cape.

"Scott…your eyes…"

He tapped a strange metal device at his throat.  "Some kind of power dampener."

"A lovely little accessory that we all seem to have…" Jean grumbled.

"Except them."  Kitty pointed to the quartet, two of which they had come to save.

"Ah…" A refined voice chimed in.  "But I know they aren't about to turn on me…" They all turned to the chalk-faced man.  "I'm sure you already know…" He smiled cordially.  "That I am Doctor Nathaniel Essex…" He bowed gracefully.  "Welcome to my home."

"What the hell did you do to them?"  Kitty demanded.  "And where the hell is Kurt?"

"Well…you are quite the firebrand, aren't you?"  He smiled.  "I merely equipped them with the abilities they need to survive in this world…" He gestured towards them.  "They are, after all, our future…second generation…true, pure, mutants…"

"What's with the brand?"  Toad sneered.  He was disheartened to see Wanda's beauty marred in such a way.

"I am and artiste, Mr Tolensky."  He said.  "One must sign one's work…"

"With an _S_?"  Xavier arched a brow.  "Doctor _ESSEX_?"

"The children have dubbed me Sinister…" He explained.  "I didn't want them to forget it…" His ruby eyes flicked towards the shadows behind his captives.  A blur of black and silver lunged at him.  

Wolverine, snarling in fury, claws out, aim true…

But he never connected.

Something intercepted him, hurling him against the wall with a sickening crunch.  At first, the others thought it was Pietro, that nothing else could have moved that fast.  But as Logan sprang to his feet, sniffed the air, and turned towards the shadows…they knew it had to be something else…

Logan identified the scent and his shoulders sagged.  "No…" He whispered.

A pair of golden eyes ignited in the darkness, bringing a whimper from Kitty.  They moved forward, and the rest of their owner slowly became visible.  He didn't so much step from the shadows as materialise out of them.  First one clawed foot and then the other.  The same skin-tight black as the others, red body armour reminiscent of his uniform, his tail flicked back and forth.  

There wasn't a hint of a smile on his usually playful face, his dark hair was slicked back making his features seem even more severe.  The brand seemed even more stark against his soft blue fur.  His eyes had always appeared luminous, but now they seemed to be glow with their own inner fury.  They never left Wolverine's face.  Every movement screamed of menace as he stalked towards his prey.  As his lips curled back from his fangs in an angry snarl one thing was certain.

The Fuzzy Elf was gone…slain by Sinister's science.

All that remained was the demon…


	9. Chapter Nine

**_I do not own these characters.  I do not pretend to own these characters.  They are, essentially, the property of Marvel Comics.  This is purely a work of fiction designed for the entertainment of others. No monetary gain will be made…_**

Generation Gap Chapter Nine 

Wolverine and Nightcrawler paced the floor slowly in a circle, sizing each other up, neither taking their eyes off the other.  The younger mutant kept himself between the black-clad usurper and the one that could only be assumed to be his master.  It was obvious that he was protecting the chalky-faced mutant, that he was more than willing to kill or die in his defence.  Any move Wolverine made to get around him was instantly countered.  

An all out brawl looked imminent.

Wolverine growled low, surprised to hear Nightcrawler answer him, baring his fangs for good measure.

"Logan…" Charles warned softly.

"Don't worry, Chuck…" Wolverine smirked.  "I'll make it quick and painless."  Off to his left he heard Pietro's snort of laughter.  He ignored it, lunging for the blue-furred mutant, prepared to take him out with a tap to the bundle of nerves at the base of the skull.  But Nightcrawler was no longer there.  He hadn't teleported, he would have smelled that.  He didn't realise the boy had somersaulted over him until one of those nastily clawed feet connected with the side of his head.

Growling, Wolverine touched his cheek.  The fingers came away red as he found the two deep trenches dug in his flesh.  Across the room, Todd's hand absently went to the identical wounds on his scalp.  Wolverine spun to face his former student, who had once again placed himself in front of Essex.

"Well…" He muttered.  "Maybe not so quick…"

Essex gestured to the spiky-haired boy that had been identified as Legion with a quick flick of his chin towards Xavier.  The youngster held out a hand towards the previously powerful telepath, pulling him and his wheelchair forward.  Scott lunged at the Professor's chair.  Blue energy danced from Wanda's fingers, hurling him back against the wall.

"Ow…" Scott mumbled as Jean rushed to his side.

"He really is quite magnificent, isn't he?" Essex was saying to the Professor as he indicated the furry mutant glaring at Wolverine.  "Took me an age to get him under control…"

_'Under control…'_ Charles thought.  "You couldn't break him…" He concluded.

"No…" Essex admitted, but didn't seem at all disturbed about his failure.  "His psychic shields are phenomenal…you must be very proud…" He smiled down at him.  "I couldn't make a dent in them.  He was quite the challenge…"

"What did you do to him?"  Charles breathed, watching Kurt as he continued to glower at Logan.

"I couldn't break his shields…so I simply strengthened them."  Essex informed him.  "Assaulted his body and mind to the point that he retreated so deep within himself that I could lock his psyche away…" 

"You trapped him in his own mind…" Charles gasped.

"Once he was mine the others proved to be hardly a challenge at all."  He gloated.  "It was almost as if their will had been destroyed with his…"

"Of course, it's left him with little more than instinct."  Essex continued.  "I'm not really sure how much intellect he has left…he hasn't spoken a word since.  He appears to be little more than an animal.  But look at him, Xavier…the colouring…the sleekly muscled body…tail…fangs…claws.  He was truly designed for only one purpose…" He snapped his fingers and Kurt hissed like a jungle cat.  His eyes ignited like twin suns and he shot towards Logan in a flash of fur and fangs.

"He's a predator!" Essex finished with a wicked smile.

~~~~~~

Wolverine braced himself.  He wasn't sure what to expect from this new, improved' Nightcrawler.  The boy had barrelled straight at him, but disappeared in his characteristic puff of smoke scant seconds before he impacted with the brawny mutant.

Nightcrawler exited his teleport immediately behind Wolverine and savagely kicked him in the kidney.  Wolverine growled and spun to face him, but he was already gone, only to re-materialise to his left and jab him in the liver.  He continued his assault, disappearing after each quick strike.  Logan was an experienced warrior, he knew what the young mutant was up to.  He was looking for a weak spot.

The rapid succession of teleports were having another effect, though Logan had to wonder if it was intentional.  The flash of light as Nightcrawler entered that fiery dimension he used to teleport through was threatening to blind him.  The stench of brimstone was burning his sinuses.  The constant implosions of air were wreaking havoc with his hearing.

He had heard the chalk-faced creep say that he was pretty sure that Kurt no longer possessed any sort of logical thought process, but his actions surely proved otherwise.  The boy knew exactly what he was doing, through a series of kicks, punches, twists, flips and slashes he was wearing away even Wolverine's reserves.  And the kid knew it.

And changed his tactics.

He teleported onto Logan's shoulders, this time taking him into the teleport with him.  Nightcrawler quickly spun into another quick succession of teleports, each one taking a greater and greater toll on Wolverine's body.  Logan was feeling decidedly iffy by the time Kurt relented.  Now the boy had caught an exposed beam in his grip and wrapped his overly long legs around Wolverine's chest.  His flexible toes worked their way under Logan's adamantium laced ribcage, driving the air slowly from his lungs.  

Scott's eyes widened.  He recognised that move.

"My God…" He whispered.  "It was Kurt…?"

Wolverine's arms were pinned to his sides, but he instinctively popped his claws.

"LOGAN!"  Storm cried.  "NO!"

He was obviously beginning to loose it, but he knew enough to now the kid wasn't responsible for his actions.  He glared at Essex, even as his vision began to blur.  Kurt leaned forward and hissed in his ear.  He wavered…then Kurt let him drop to the floor.

He released the beam and dropped down silently beside him, crouching low, studying his fallen prey with a blank expression.  He slowly raised his hand and clicked his fingers.  Pietro zipped forward, placing something in his still raised hand.  A collar…identical to the ones that encircled all the other captive mutants necks.

Kurt lowered his hand slowly, watching as the blood seeping from the various wounds he'd torn in Logan's body began to slow.  When it had almost stopped he snapped the collar around Wolverine's neck, then rose slowly to his feet, still gazing emotionlessly at the fallen mutant.

His fellow X-Men lowered their heads, struck dumb with the grief of seeing what had happened to their gentlest of friends, more so than what he had done to their burly mentor.  Even the Brotherhood members were shocked.

So the chuckle that came from the shadows hit them hard.

Mystique stepped into the light and sashayed towards her silent son.  "I must say, Essex…" She purred.  "You do good work."  She ran her fingers over her blue-furred boy's armoured shoulders.  "I doubt I could have done a better job if I'd raised him myself…"

She was smiling, but from her position behind him she didn't see Kurt's eyes narrow as he looked back at his mother.  She didn't see his lip curl in disgust revealing a sharp fang in a nasty, silent snarl…

She had no idea she was in any danger until Kurt's fist connected with her face.

She was staggered by the impact, her hands instinctively going to her nose.  She could feel the warm, sticky liquid on her fingers but her nose was numb.  As she pondered whether or not her nose was actually broken, Kurt spun and planted a foot against her belly, kicking her across the room.

She hit the wall, and then the floor, hard.  She looked up to see Kurt, crouched low, sizing her up.  His eyes locked with hers, he set his shoulders, and sprang.  She ducked to one side in an effort to escape the flashing claws, but Kurt landed silently on the wall to her left.  She thought it weird that he had misjudged the leap so badly, but then she felt the tightness around her throat, felt herself pulled upwards as he continued up the wall.

Kurt didn't stop when he reached the ceiling, he switched from the vertical to the horizontal, crawling across the ceiling until he reached the centre, all the time dragging Raven with him.  He stopped, squatting on the ceiling, watching as the blue-skinned mutant dangled from his tail.  If she hadn't already been blue she definitely would have turned that colour as she struggled to breathe.

She twisted, trying to get a foothold somewhere, but Kurt had perched far from the walls.  He just watched on dispassionately as she clawed at the tail coiled around her throat.

"Oh my God!"  Kitty gasped.  "He's gonna kill her!"  There were similar echoes from the others, but Kurt's expression, his pose, his intent, didn't change.

Essex watched on, obviously impressed with his creation.

"For God's sake, Essex!" Charles implored.  "The boy's a Catholic!  You can't let him stain his immortal soul like this!"

Essex arched a brow, casting his eyes for a moment at the mutant at his side.  The smirk on his face showing that maybe that was just what he had in mind.  Finally he turned his attention back to the grisly scene in front of him.

"Nightcrawler…" He warned softly.  Kurt's golden eyes turned towards him.  "Later…"

He growled, baring his fangs in annoyance.  But his tail's grip on Mystique's neck loosened, letting the malicious shape-shifter slump to the floor.  Kurt released his hold on the ceiling, twisted in mid air as he dropped, landing silently on his feet.  Mystique cowered away from the boy, who was still watching her with that same blank expression.  

Wanda stepped forward this time, another collar in her hands.  Kurt's head turned towards her as she handed him the device.  The fact that Wanda was smiling at the blue-furred mutant was surprising enough, but coupled with her heavily lidded eyes it looked almost seductive.   Though Kurt showed no reaction to Wanda's obvious 'come hither' look, Todd was bristling.  Wanda's subtle caress of his back as he stooped to lock the collar around his mother's neck had him fuming.

The task completed, Kurt rose, and with Wanda, strolled almost casually, back to his place with the other branded mutants.  Mystique whimpered slightly as she touched the cold metal at her throat, her eyes never leaving the even colder look on the face of her son.

"Why so surprised, Raven?"  Essex cooed at her.  "Surely you must know how much your son despises you."

"Man…" Lance whispered as he leaned towards Fred, his eyes never leaving Kurt's face.  "Remind me not to piss him off…"

"Tell me about it…" Fred replied.  "I never knew blue boy could do somethin' like that."

"Believe me…" Todd growled.  "Fur ball's got a temper when he wants it…"

"Guess he inherited more that just his Mom's colouring…" Lance muttered.

Kitty began to sob quietly, and Lance wished he could get closer to her, offer her some comfort.  He knew she had a strong bond with her blue-furred friend, and though he knew it wasn't at all romantic, he was still jealous of it.  The pair were closer than he and Kitty would ever be.

Kitty whimpered, and tried desperately to stop her weeping.  Lance frowned and cast his eyes towards her.  She looked terrified.  He followed her line of sight and could see why.  Kurt was looking straight at her, that same unnerving expressionless expression on his face.  One clawed foot slid forward, stopping as Essex' scarlet eyes locked with his golden ones.  Essex arched a brow, a slow smile curling his face.  Kurt's own brow arched in return.

Charles frowned as Kurt's attention turned from Essex.  His frown deepened when he saw Pietro exhale deeply and roll his eyes.  Wanda's ever present frown deepened, her dark eyes flashed with genuine annoyance.  David raised an eyebrow and the other girl folded her arms across his chest.  

Kurt then slinked forward, still moving like the predator Essex believed him to be.  His glowing eyes were now locked with Kitty's, the girl looking for all the world like a deer caught in the headlights.  Lance bristled as the blue-furred mutant drew close, as if he could see something in Kurt's body language that the others couldn't…or wouldn't.

"Don't even think about it!"  He growled.

Kurt's eyes turned towards him, his expression still didn't change, but he began to flex his clawed fingers, itching for another fight.

His fists clenched, Lance took a step forward, happy to oblige, but Fred held him back.  He glared at the huge mutant.  "You told me not to let you piss him of, remember?"  He hissed at him.

"But…" Lance began.  

He snarled and lunged for Kurt as the glowing-eyed mutant's hand flashed out and snared Kitty's wrist.  She screamed at the look in those glowing eyes, taking a step back despite his iron-like grip.  Kurt's eyes flicked towards the incoming Lance, who hit the floor as he sailed through the spot where he'd been.  Lance punched the floor when he realised both Kitty and the newly twisted mutant were gone.

"He took out six of your number…including Wolverine and Mystique…" Essex smiled.  "The boy's earned a little fun…"


	10. Chapter Ten

**_I do not own these characters.  I do not pretend to own these characters.  They are, essentially, the property of Marvel Comics.  This is purely a work of fiction designed for the entertainment of others. No monetary gain will be made…_**

Generation Gap 

**Chapter Ten**

"OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD!"

Kurt had released Kitty as soon as they exited the teleport, and she had immediately fallen into a terrified mantra.  She had no idea of exactly what Kurt had in mind, but judging by what he'd done to Mr Logan and Mystique, it couldn't be anything good.

"OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD!"

But if she'd taken time to actually look at him, she would have seen him fold his arms and roll his eyes in exasperation.  If she'd taken time to draw breath, she would have heard the tic, tic, tic of his clawed toes as he tapped his foot in annoyance.

"OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD!"

But she didn't.

"OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD! OHMIGOD!"

"SHUT UP!" He finally snapped.

The sound and tone of his voice brought her back to reality with a thud.

"Hey!"  She said.  "He said you couldn't talk."

"He says a lot of things."  Kurt countered.  "Besides…he said I _HADN'T talked, not that I _COULDN'T_."_

"Now you're just getting picky!"

He just snorted in response.  Kitty looked at her feet and hugged herself tightly.  She still had no idea what he had planned for her.  He'd never been so intimidating before.  Even when she'd first met him, before she'd adjusted to his demonic looks, she'd never felt this uncomfortable around him.  She glance up at him, frowning when she realised she was looking up.  In his true form Kurt had a tendency to stoop or crouch, as if he was trying to make himself smaller, less obvious, in a vain hope to draw attention away from himself.  But now he was standing tall, proud, self assured.

"Come vith me."  He said emotionlessly. 

"Why?"  She asked with an obvious quiver in her voice.

"I need you to do something for me."  He added in the same tone of voice.

"What?"  She asked.

"Vhy do you have to ask so many questions?"  He snarled.

"Because I don't know…if I can…well…" She stammered.

"Trust me?"  He finished for her.

"Well…yeah…" She whispered.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Kitty."  He assured her, though it was hard to accept it in his flat tone of voice.  "I need you to hack into Sinister's computer…"

"WHAT?"  She gasped.

"He has files on all of us…" Kurt continued.  "Vith a great deal of information, vhich he has not shared vith us.  I vant to see mine."

"Why?"  Kitty asked.

Kurt somehow managed to bite down his annoyance.  "Because he claims that he knows the identity of my father…my _REAL_ father."

"Your father…?" She echoed.  She saw the first trace of emotion on his face as he spoke of his unknown heritage.  "Considering who your Mom is…do you really want to know?"

"Considering who my mother is…could it be any vorse?"  He countered.

"You have a point."  She admitted.  "Unless it turns out to be Sabretooth or something…"

"Don't even joke like that…" He grumbled.

"Isn't it more important to help the others?"

"They'll be fine." Kurt told her.  "He'll be gloating for hours…"

"But you are gonna help them, right?"  She implored.  "He admitted that he hadn't broken you…so you're still you…aren't you?"  She looked at him with wide shinning eyes.  She knew he'd been changed by whatever Sinister had done to him, but she knew the real Kurt had to be in there somewhere, under all that anger and malice.

"More or less."  He admitted.  She continued to stare at him with those verdammt eyes.  "Okay!  Fine!  Put it on a disk and I'll look at it later!"

"I knew my fuzzy elf was still in there!"  She squealed.  "Now where's this computer?"

Kurt pointed to a highly sophisticated set up.  The techno-geek side of Kitty's personality was beyond delighted.  She sat down at the console, scanning the system with a knowledgeable eye.  Kurt was pacing angrily back and forth, muttering to himself in German.  It was quite distracting.  And disheartening.

"What did he do to you?"  Kitty whispered.  She hadn't meant for Kurt to hear it, but he did anyway.

"Exactly vhat he said he did…locked me up in my own mind…"

"But you're not…"

"He locked away everything that is good and gentle in me…all he's left me vith is bitterness and anger!  I can't _FEEL anything…" He sighed, and even that sounded angry.  "Or for anyone…" He added quietly._

"GOTT!" He growled, slamming a fist into the wall, leaving a noticeable dent.  "How does Logan live like this?"

Kitty lowered her head and set to her work.

"Kurt…" Kitty asked softly with a frown.  "Have you even tried to get this yourself?"

"No…I vas kind of busy being tortured by a chalk-faced megalomaniac and his heartless lackeys."  He muttered.  She shuddered at the thought.  "Vhy do you ask?"

"It's not even encrypted…" She pulled a blank CD from a box on a shelf above the giant, flat-screen monitor, loading it in the disk drive.  "Either that, or we lucked out and he was actually working on your files when we arrived."

She pulled the freshly burned CD from the drive and held it up for him.  He snatched it from her hand and slipped it into the gauntlet on his left arm.

"Right…" He approached her in what he hoped was an unthreatening way, but she still flinched when he reached for the collar at her throat.  "Try to relax…" He said.  "This von't take long…"

"What are you gonna do?" She asked in a terrified whisper.  Kurt didn't reply, he gently slipped his fingers beneath the collar… and teleported. 

Kitty screamed at the strange sensation of the tearing at her throat as the collar dematerialised with Kurt, but she didn't.  He reappeared less than a foot away, studying the device in his clawed hands.

"Hmmm…" He mused.  "It vorked."  He looked at Kitty.  "There vas a possibility that I vould take you head along vith the collar."

Her jaw dropped.  He knew he could have killed her with that move, and he'd done it anyway, with absolutely no concern for her safety.  He really didn't care.  A part of her wanted to cry.

_'No wonder he was so unresponsive to Wanda…'_ She thought.  There was no mistaking the look in the surly teen's eyes, in her body language, as she looked at the blue-furred mutant.

"Now…" He said as he put the collar down on Sinister's desk.  "I vill go in and create a diversion…once all attention is focused on me…you come in and short out the other's collars vith your phasing power…"

"Create a diversion?"  She frowned.  "What are you gonna do?"

"Pick a fight vith Sinister."

"But that guy's enormous!"  Kitty protested.  "And he's got those other jerks to back him up!  You can't take him on on your own!"

"I von't be alone."  Kurt assured her.

~~~~~~

Essex watched dispassionately as Harpoon and Scalphunter dragged Wolverine over to the other captive mutants.  Mystique was still sitting, sobbing, in the middle of the room.  Riptide kicked her.  

"Move!"  He commanded.

She glared up at him, noticing the strapping on his nose.  She arched a brow.

"Yeah."  He grumbled.  "Little freak's a whiz at breaking noses."

Mystique rose slowly, her golden eyes never leaving the smug mutant's face.  As she drew to her full height, she struck quickly, slamming her fist into his already damaged nose.

"That…_LITTLE FREAK_…is my son!"  She growled at him.

"And he just kicked you butt!"  Riptide hissed through the pain of his re-damaged nose.

"Yes…" She smirked.  "He did make me so proud."  She strolled over to the other captives.  "He is far more like me than I imagined." 

All turned at the familiar sound of Kurt's arrival.  He was in a low crouch, head down, at the far end of the room.  He was also, Lance noted, alone.

"Tell me, Herr Sinister…" he said quietly as he lifted his head, locking his eyes with the addressed mutant.  "Have you ever read _Frankenstein?"_

Essex frowned.  The fact that the boy had spoken was surprising enough.  But there was something about his tone of voice, the way he rose slowly, menacingly, to his feet, the wicked smirk that tugged at the corner of his mouth, that Essex just didn't like.  He hadn't been able to break the boy, and it was beginning to become rather obvious that he wasn't in control of him either. 

He decided not to show his rising uncertainty.

"No."  He said in a haughty tone. "What's your point?"

"A man created a monster…" Kurt began as he slowly walked towards him.  Then he launched into a gymnastic tumble that would have done an Olympic gold-medallist proud.  Which each flip and twist he was building up speed.  Essex' older underlings tensed, but Wanda, Pietro and the other two just watched quietly as Kurt suddenly vanished as he reached the pinnacle of a high flip.

He reappeared millimetres from Essex, exiting the teleport at the same high speed he'd entered it.  Aided by the force of gravity, his clawed feet slammed into Essex chest with such impact it sent the big mutant sprawling.  Kurt landed gracefully in the spot Essex had just vacated.

"And it turned on him."  He finished as Essex glared at him.

Then things began to happen very fast.

Charles was about to say something when he felt his wheelchair jerk into motion.

"Catch!"  The boy called Legion said as he telekinetically shoved him towards Scott and Jean.

Siryn took to the air, shattering Vertigo's concentration.  Riptide lunged for Nightcrawler only to be intercepted by Quicksilver.  The Scarlet Witch shook lose all of Scalphunter's weapon building components.  Legion lifted Arclight off the ground, without tactile contact, her powers were useless.

"'Bout time you made yer move, Elf."  Wolverine said as he lunged for Harpoon.  "I was getting' sick of playin' possum."

"What is going on?" Storm demanded.

"Yeah…I thought they were like in cahoots or somethin'…" Toad frowned.

"You think ve vould be in cahoots vith someone who kidnapped and tortured us?"  Nightcrawler's voice came from across the room.

"Tortured?"  Essex questioned as he rose up behind Kurt.  "I made you stronger…faster…better…"

"Stronger and faster I vill accept.  But better? That is open to debate!"  He leapt at his tormentor, feet first, slashing at him with all claws.  Essex tried to swat him away, but the boy was too fast, too agile.

"Is it just me…?" Blob said softly.  "Or are these guys a lot more brutal than they used to be?"

"Well…" Rogue considered.  "Kurt and Pietro sure are…those other two we don't know…and Wanda was always brutal…"

"Hey!"  Toad protested.  "Don't talk about my baby cakes like that!"

"In case ya haven't noticed…" Rogue turned on him.  "Yer _BABY CAKES _is more interested in fuzzy elves than she is in slimy toads!"

"Yeah…" Toad said softly.  "I noticed…"

"Should we go help 'em?" Blob asked.

"We don't got powers."  Toad pointed out.  The trio winched as Quicksilver slammed Riptide into a wall with a resounding crunch.

"I get the feelin' they don't need our help."  Rogue said.

"I'm not so sure…" Jean said.  "They're pushing themselves too hard.  The little guy's beginning to tire…"  Legion's outstretched arm was beginning to lower, so much so, he propped it up with his other arm.

"Yeah…" Blob agreed.  "These guys are righteously pissed!"

"When you're angry you make mistakes."  Cyclops frowned.

"Then maybe we should totally give them some help then."  Shadowcat's voice came from behind.  With one sweep of her arm she shorted out all their collars.  A blast of ruby energy arched across the room, very nearly burning the hair from Wolverine's head.  The battling ceased as all combatants turned to its source.

"Warn me before you do that!"  Cyclops growled as he shut his eyes, covering them with his arms for good measure.

Essex took advantage of Nightcrawler's momentary loss of concentration and slammed him against the wall.  He hit hard, sliding the floor, he didn't move. While Shadowcat freed the others, Essex decided to utilise the age old tactic of discretion being the better part of valour…and bolted.

"Son of a bitch!"  Quicksilver hissed, and was off after him like a shot.

"Bastard!"  Siryn added before shrieking at the top of her lungs.

The castle began to shake as the Scarlet Witch tried, unsuccessfully, to keep her anger in check.  

Legion dropped Arclight like a sack of potatoes and threw up a wall of fire in front of the fleeing mutant.  Essex spun to face the four approaching youngsters.  He had caused them all a great deal of suffering, though none so much as the still unmoving Nightcrawler.  But he had faith in his underlings, especially when he saw Arclight preparing to let loose with her powers.

The castle shook as Arclight punched the floor, concentrating her efforts on the foursome, she sent them tumbling. 

"Relative of yours?"  Toad asked Avalanche.

Harpoon, having taken advantage of the same distraction to skewer the already injured Wolverine, pulled several weapons from his backpack, igniting them and choosing his targets.  Riptide fanned out his shuriken.  Scalphunter was cobbling something together, his eyes locked on Wanda as he did so.

"We have to stop them."  Mystique said.  "They're going to get themselves killed if they continue to fight him.  He won't stand for it!"

"I have to agree."  Charles nodded.  "David is already tiring…it won't be long before the others weaken."

Cyclops pulled them into a huddle.  "Toad!  She'll probably hate me for it…but the screamer can't do much if she can't make a sound…so do that slime thing of yours!"  He commanded in a whisper.  "Blob!  Hold on to Quicksilver!  Rogue!  Try and drain what the little guy's got left."  He paused.  "Uh…Professor?"

"I'll handle Wanda."  He said.

"Shadowcat…check on Kurt…get him out of here if need be."  Cyclops continued.  "The rest of us'll keep the marauding morons busy!"

"He's quite commanding…" Mystique commented.

"Indeed he is." Xavier smirked.  

"Let's do this!" Cyclops yelled as the leapt into the fray.

Avalanche shook the ground beneath Quicksilver's feet, allowing Blob the chance to pull him into a tight bear hug.

"Let me go Blob!"  Pietro demanded, struggling in the giant mutant's grasp.  "You don't know what the jerk did to me!  To us!"

"Nuh-uh, Pietro."  Blob shook his head.  "You may be a royal pain in the butt, but I still don't want to see you get yourself hurt."

The Scarlet Witch snarled as Xavier entered her mind, flooding it with calming images.  _'Xavier…please…' She thought as him.  __'I…we…have to…'  Her body began to relax as he forced her into a tranquil state._

"Yo, baby!"  Toad called as he hopped up to be face-to-face with Siryn.  "You might want to shut yer mouth!"  She didn't even manage to scream in disgust as her mouth was covered with green slime.

"Effective."  Toad smirked.  "But it don't taste too good."

Legion glanced about, annoyed to see that these so-called friends of Kurt, Wanda and Pietro were effectively taking them out of the fight.  Why couldn't they just leave them be?  They had to destroy Sinister, for what he had done to them, and for what he could do to others if they let him escape.

He turned suddenly, taking the girl with the stripe in her hair completely by surprise.

"You really think you could sneak up on a telepath?"  He queried before shoving her away with his telekinesis.  He gestured, and a wall of flame enveloped him, making it impossible for anyone to get near him.  

"If it's up to me…" He muttered as he strode purposefully towards Essex.  "Then it's up to me."

"Cyclops!"  Rogue yelled.  "A little help here?"

Scott frowned.  What to do…what to do?  

"Jean!  Mind link!"

Jean quickly formed a mental bond between herself, her fellow X-Men and the three Brotherhood boys, allowing them to communicate while continuing to fight.  _'Okay…this kid's gonna be a tough one…but the Professor already said he's getting tired.  Lance…Todd…you two and I'll hit him from a distance…make him use up whatever he's got left…and see if you can smother the flames.  And don't forget…he's just a messed up kid…be as gentle as possible…'_

_'You wanna tell him that?' _ Todd grumbled.

_'Rogue…go with the original plan as soon as you spot an opening…'_

_'Right.'___

"Kurt?"  Kitty queried as she reached the fallen mutant.  She rolled him onto his back, frowning at the large welt on his temple.  A few stray hairs straggled across his face.  His mouth was slightly open, revealing his fangs.  The expression on his face reminded her of that night long ago, when they'd first encountered Rogue, when she'd robbed him of his powers and his consciousness.  She'd been so worried he was dead, a worry that now crossed her mind now.

But the sound of battle around her, the scarlet brand on his face and the touch of the cold, hard armour that encased his shoulders reminded her that this was a totally different situation.

Quicksilver let out an angry growl as he saw Legion go down.  The boy was already exhausted, and the combined efforts of Avalanche, Cyclops, Rogue and Toad had proved too much for him.  His sister was still in an Xavier induced stupor, Siryn was clawing at the goop that covered her mouth and Nightcrawler was a ragdoll in Shadowcat's arms.

"That freakin' shit is gonna get away!"  He yelled, thrashing about in Blob's crushing grip.

"Let him go, Pietro…yer free of him now."  Blob assured him.

Kurt's eyes snapped open when he heard Pietro's cry.  Kitty screamed and backed away from him as he surged to his feet.  He growled, his eyes narrowing as they found Sinister.

Eyes that were now blood red.

He coiled and leapt at the massive, chalky-skinned mutant, eyes flashing, claws slashing.

"Oh no you don't!"  Jean said, reaching out and telekinetically stopping him in mid leap.  He howled as Essex' underlings shepherded him out of the room.  He began to thrash in Jean's grip, snarling and growling like a caged beast.  

Inspired by this, Pietro renewed his own struggle against Blob, kicking wildly and painfully at some of Freddy's more delicate areas.  Blob just took a firm grip on Pietro's upper arms and held him out from his body, keeping the swiftly moving feet from doing him any harm.

Jean, however, was beginning to feel the strain of Kurt's struggle.  The furry mutant was surprisingly difficult to grip.  "C'mon, Kurt."  She tried to sooth him.  "Stop fighting me."  The anger seemed to drain from his body as he listened to her.  She relaxed slightly, believing she'd reached him.

Until he teleported right out of her grasp.

"Oh no…"

~~~~~~

"Won't take a moment to prep the jet…" Harpoon said.

"We're just gonna run?"  Riptide asked.

"There's too many of them." Scalphunter pointed out.  "You want something else broken?"

"Okay…fine!" He grumbled.  "We run…"

They turned as one when they heard the snarl above their head.

"Nightcrawler…" Essex said.

"Kid don't quit, do he?"  Arclight arched a brow.

"I made him well…" Essex smiled as Kurt leapt at him, digging his claws into his shoulders as he teleported them both away.

Those who remained exchanged a glance.

"Whatta we do now?"  Riptide asked.

"We prep the jet."  Harpoon answered.

"What about the boss?"  Vertigo asked.

"He made the kid what he is…" Scalphunter said.  "You think he doesn't know how to un-make him?"

~~~~~~

"How the hell do we track him?"  Cyclops demanded.

"The old fashioned way. " Logan said as he sniffed the air.  "Sulpha is _VERY distinctive…so is the Elf…" He began to scan the area with ears and nose._

"This way."  He said finally, leading them out of the room.

~~~~~~

Kurt threw Essex against the wall as he exited his teleport.  They were in the castle's main courtyard, the cool night air was dotted with stars.

"You vill not leave here."  He promised in a low growl.  "I vill not let you use that verdammen serum of yours on anyone else!  I vill not let you make anyone else into a monster!"

"The serum only accelerates the power already locked in your genes!"  Essex countered.  "You would have eventually come into these powers on your own!  I didn't make you a monster…you were _BORN _that way!"

Kurt looked as if Essex had slapped him in the face.  He couldn't believe that this was what God had intended.  He looked at his long, clawed fingers.  They began to tremble as he studied them.  He could feel the emotions that Essex had locked away pushing against the wall he'd built in his mind.  He wanted to scream, cry, _ANYTHING_!

But he couldn't.

He glared at Essex, feeling the one emotion he could feel begin to build.  His breathed hissed through clenched teeth.

"Maybe you didn't make me a monster…" Kurt admitted.  "But you did make me something…"

"And what is that?"  Essex asked.

"Really, _REALLY PISSED!"_

He hurled himself at Essex, launching into all the attacks he'd used on Logan and Mystique and more.  Essex was staggered by the assault.  Torn, bruised and bleeding, he somehow managed to nab the whirling dervish that Kurt had become and throw him towards the wall.  But Kurt twisted in midair, landing uninjured against the wall, using the force of the impact to recoil him back.

Logan emerged just as Kurt impacted with Essex, knocking the big mutant down as he had before.  But this time he didn't leap away, he landed on Essex chest, digging his claws into pale flesh.  Essex howled with pain and grabbed Kurt's neck with both hands.

Nightcrawler didn't look at all perturbed by his current situation.  Essex could easily snap his neck, but Kurt was actually smiling, an evil thing that looked so out of place on his blue, fuzzy face as Essex rose to his feet.  Kurt brought up both feet and racked Essex' arms with both feet and hands.

Essex snarled and dropped him like a hot potato.  Kurt landed easily on his feet, the wicked smirk still firmly in place.  Logan didn't know what was going on, even when Essex raised his arm, outstretched palm towards the young mutant.

"I have had enough!"  He growled.  "Dealing with yourself and the guilt of what you've done will be a far worse punishment than anything I can dish out!"

Kurt's head snapped back as he was struck by an invisible force.  Then he slumped to the ground.

_'He left himself wide open for that…'_  Logan gasped.  _'Kid's insane!'_

"You bastard!"  Cyclops cried as he pushed past Wolverine.  "Haven't you hurt him enough!?"  He didn't wait for an answer, he just hit Essex with the full force of his optic blast.

Essex laughed at the blast passed right through him. His body seemed to dissolve, dissipate into the air.

"NO!"  Pietro screamed, finally finding a weak spot in Blob's grip.  He tore across the courtyard, but Essex was already gone.

"_DAMNIT!"  He howled to the sky._

"Man…" Lance whispered.  "What did that guy do to them?"

"I dunno…" Kitty replied.  "But he totally locked away all of Kurt's feelings…"

"What?"  Rogue gasped.

"He said that he couldn't feel anything but anger…" Kitty explained.  "That he couldn't care about anything…or anyone…"

"Explains why he could beat the living snot outta Wolverine and Mystique…" Todd nodded.

"KURT!"  Wanda screamed when she saw his immobilised form on the ground.  Todd looked away, heartbroken, as she dropped to the ground beside him, pulling him into her arms.  She was startled when he buried his face in her neck, clinging to her like a lost child.  She stroked his hair as she felt his body begin to shake with silent sobs.

"Dealing with yourself and the guilt of what you've done…" Logan quoted as he walked towards the pair.  "That's why you took that blast of his…" he surmised.  "You wanted him to undo what he'd done…"

"I couldn't live like that…" He whispered into Wanda's hair, but Logan could still hear him.  He dragged himself away from Wanda's comforting warmth, pulling himself to his full height, though still unable to raise his eyes to his friends.

"But can you deal with it?"  Logan asked.

Kurt sighed deeply as he fought to regain his composure.  "Yes."  He said finally raising his head.  

Logan just smiled and nodded.

~~~~~~

Kurt, Wanda, Pietro, Theresa and David had separated themselves from the others.

"You guys have to pick up anything?"  Scott called.  "We'll be heading home in a few minutes."

"I'm not going back…" Kurt said softly.

"What?"  Scott walked over to him.  "You're kidding, right?"

"No." Kurt said, only slightly louder.  "I can't…not right now anyway…I have…things…I have to vork out…"

"Kurt…" Charles wheeled over.

"Don't try to talk me out of this, Professor…" Kurt began.

"I'm not going to…" He smiled.  "I just thought you might need these…" He reached into a compartment in his wheelchair and pulled out a holowatch and several passports.  "You'll need these when you're ready to return to us."

"Thanks, Professor."  Kurt smiled weakly.

"And you might need this…" He handed Kurt a credit card.  The young mutant frowned.  "It's hooked to the school's account…just try not to buy anything too expensive."

"I don't need your money, Professor." Kurt said, trying to hand it back.  "Home is just a hop, skip and a 'port that way."  He pointed to the west.

Xavier curled Kurt's fingers around the slip of plastic.  "Take it."  He smiled.  "I'll feel better if I know you can at least buy yourself a meal."

"Thanks, Professor."  Kurt said again.

"Now, then…David…" The boy looked at his father.  "I think it's time I had a long overdue talk with your mother…"

"But…I…" He looked at the others.

"I know…" Charles sighed.  "But I can't allow it…I have to take you back to your mother."

David was going to protest, but thought better of it.

"Don't sweat it, Davey."  Pietro smiled.  "We'll see you when we get back, okay?"

"Right…" He mumbled.

"Professor…" Scott protested as the Professor drew up to him.  "We can't let Kurt go off alone in his current state of mind…"

"He won't be alone…" Charles smiled as he glanced back at the group.

"None of them are coming back with us, are they?"  Scott surmised.

"Apart from David, no."  Charles nodded.  "Their shared ordeal has forged a bond between them that I doubt will ever be broken."

"That'll make things interesting when they _DO come back."  Scott said._

"I don't believe this!"  Todd grumbled.  "We come all this way to save their butts…they kick ours…and now they ditch us?"

"C'mon, Toad."  Lance said.  "Just who saved whose butts here?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" He muttered, glancing back to where the quartet were sitting.  Wanda was sitting rather close to Kurt, though the latter didn't seem to notice.  He smiled slightly to himself about that.  After all…Kurt hadn't really shown an interest in Wanda…and he had Amanda waiting for him back home…

Perhaps there was some hope for him yet.  

~~~~~~

"So…" Pietro asked as they watched the X-Jet and Velocity take to the sky.  "What's the plan?"

"We head home…" Kurt said.

"Um…hello…our ride just left!"

"Not THAT home."  Kurt sighed.

"Ah…a hop, skip and a 'port that way…" Pietro pointed to the west.

"Ja…" Kurt nodded.

~~~~~~

Doctor Nathaniel Essex watched as the four young mutants walked away from the ruined castle.

"Mystique was right about one thing, Nathan…" A voice said from behind him.  "You do good work."

"That's why you pay me the big bucks…" He turned to the voice.  "Erik…"

"Everything went according to plan?"  Magneto asked.

"Nightcrawler turned out a little more aggressive than anticipated, and your daughter is not quite in control of her powers…but the information in the files Shadowcat downloaded will keep them separated from the others for some time…they won't be easy pickings…but you and your group have them outnumbered…curiosity can, indeed, kill the cat…" 

Magneto watched the quartet with great interest.  "A pity Xavier took his son with him…" He said.  "But at least I can avenge myself on Mystique…"

"And Cassidy's daughter?"  Essex arched a brow.

"I have no grief with him…" Magneto said.  "But, you know what they say…the more the merrier.  Four additions to my cause is preferable to three..."

_____________________________________________________________

Obviously, all these unanswered questions can only mean one thing…

Sequel!

Will Kurt succumb to the enchantment of the Scarlet Witch or return to Amanda's arms?

Will he find his father?

And just what has Magneto got planned for our little group?

All these questions and more may be answered in the upcoming _A Sense Of History_…

But…

If you want to see some more of my stuff head over to Nightscrawlers () for my sprite comic _All My Crawlers…updated at least weekly…available in the image gallery () or the _Fuzzy Visions & Three Toed Tales_ forum ()…_

Or…if you want some Kurt/Wanda romance, you could try my fic, _Chance Encounter_…which is my take on how the pair got together and had a little bouncing bundle of bliss named Talia Josephine.  This is available at my site, _A Touch Of Velvet _() because its rating is too high to post it here ^_~


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